
Glass r 152. 

Book —xiljS^^ - 



JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY STUDIES 323 

^^ 3/// 

Historical and Political Science 

HERBERT B. ADAMS, Editor 



History is past Politics and Politics present History — Freeman 

J 

TENTH SERIES / _, 

VIII-IX '^ 

OUiKERS II PENNSYLyANIA 



By albert C. APPLEGARTH, Ph. D. 



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y?^ 



VIIl-IX 



flUiKERS IK PENNSYLyANIi 



i 



JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY STUDIES 

IN 

Historical and Political Science 

HERBERT B. ADAMS, Editor 



History is past Politics and Politics present History — F'reeman 



TENTH SERIES 
VIII-IX 



OUiKERS IN PEHSYLyANIi 



By albert C. APPLEGARTH, Ph. D. 



baltimore 
The Johns Hopkins Press 

August and September, 1893 



Copyright, 1892, by The Johks Hopkins Press. 



JOHN MUKPHY & CO, PRINTERS, 
BALTIMORE. 



QUAKERS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 



I. 

Quaker Customs. 



Many centuries have been buried in the oblivion of the 
past since Pindar made his famous declaration that " custom 
is the king of all men." Although its author has long since 
passed away, succeeding ages have attested the correctness of 
the principle thus formulated. It is universally recognized 
that custom dominates the world of the present day ; and it 
has to be conceded that it occupied a position of equal pre- 
eminence in the 17th century — at the period, when the Society 
of Friends emerged from obscurity, and attained a clear cut, 
well-defined existence. Although the adherence to their 
peculiar practices was primarily the cause of their persecu- 
tion, yet bribes or tortures proved equally unavailing to 
induce them to relinquish their approved forms of speech, or 
to change their manner of life. 

The Quakers were quick to perceive the vanity underly- 
ing most of the customs and habits prevalent in their day ; 
hence their determined opposition. By this sect, Christianity 
was regarded as a heavenly dispensation; consequently its 
adherents contended that their faith should liberate them 
from the ostentation, insidious ceremonies, and other frivoli- 
ties, unfortunately so common at that period. 

5 



6 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [386 

For titles, and worldly honors generally, the Society 
always entertained special aversion. Its members strenu- 
ously refused to render any obeisance whatever to any dis- 
tinctions of rank or honor. An instance is on record where 
William Penn was once accosted as Lo7'd Penn in the Colony 
of Pennsylvania. To evidence their great displeasure at such 
unwarrantable procedure, the Assembly promptly ordered the 
practice to be discontinued, and a fine was imposed on the 
transgressor, presumably to stimulate his memory in the 
future. When addressing King Charles II, Penn never 
referred to him as " His Majesty," but always as "Friend 
Charles;" and the monarch, either in his characteristic spirit 
of levity or mockery, styled the son of the admiral, "Friend 
William." This principle also regulated their intercourse 
with the provincial authorities, who were always addressed 
in the plain and unvarnished language of Quakerism. The 
Friends, however, in this respect, were occasionally compelled 
to make some slight concessions. For example, when a 
formal petition was to be presented to the Crown, of course 
the usual phraseology had to be employed. But, in such 
cases, the majority of the Assembly were ever careful to 
pacify their consciences by appending to each address a decla- 
ration proclaiming that, although its substance received their 
approval, yet they " excepted against some of its style." 

The Quakers even discarded the use of the ordinary Master 
or Sir in conversation and correspondence. A writer, who 
allows himself to become indignant over what he regards as 
such an insignificant matter, declares, " though they will not 
call anybody Sir or Master, they call everybody ' Friend,' 
although it is evident that, to a stranger, this must be mere 
civility, like the words they reject, and to an enemy, must 
approach nearly to insincerity." The Friends, however, were 
fortified in their position by what they apprehended to be the 
irrefragable teaching of the Scriptures, hence they continued 
steadfast in their opposition to the established custom. They 
contended that the Bible nowhere contained any such expres-- 



387] Customs and Laws. 7 

sions as "My Lord Peter," or "My Lord Paul," consequently 
they agreed that all titles were to be promiscuously rejected. 
The Quakers, declares Penn, " aifirm it to be sinful to give 
flattering titles, or to use vain gestures and compliments of 
respect — though to virtue and authority they ever made a 
deference ; but after their plain and homely manner, yet sin- 
cere and substantial way ; well remembering the example of 
Mordecai and Elihu ; but more especially the command of 
their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, who forbad his followers 
to call men Rabbi, which implies Lord and Master." ^ In 
another place, the language of the author, just quoted, is as 
follows : " Though we do not pull off our hats, or make 
courtesying, or give flattering titles, or use compliments, 
because we believe there is no trv£ honor, but flattery and sin 
in the use of them ; yet we treat all men with seriousness and 
gentleness, though it be with plainness, and our superiors with 
a most awful distance ; and we are ready to do them any 
reasonable benefit or service in which we think real honor 
consisteth."^ The Quaker creed then, in this particular, was 
to revere principles and not titles or worldly pre-eminence. 
They honored " all men in the Lord," but " not in the spirit 
and fashion of this world that passeth away." " They," truly 
testified the great Oliver Cromwell, " are a people whom I 
cannot win with gifts, honors, or places." 

In conformity to the approved custom of the Society, when 
William Penn became a convert to Quakerism, he positively 
refused to take off his hat to any one. His courtly father, 
being exceedingly provoked at what he deemed such unrea- 
sonable conduct, tried to conciliate the youthful proselyte. 
He proposed a compromise, that his son should only uncover 
his head before three persons ; to wit, the king, the duke of 
York, and last, but by no means least, the Admiral himself. 
But even this apparently innocent concession William posi- 
tively declined to make. He declined to remove his hat even 

^ Eise and Progreta, 32. ' Select Wwks, V, 26, 



8 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [388 

in the presence of his father because, as Mr. Graharae ex- 
presses it, " he refused to lay even a single grain of incense on 
what he deemed an unhallowed altar of human arrogance and 
vanity." ^ 

It is related that George III, when he granted an audience 
to the Quakers, took care to save their honor, and at the same 
time spare his own royal feelings, by stationing at the door of 
the chamber an extra groom, whose sole duty was to remove 
the hats of the visitors as they approached the monarch. Such, 
indeed, was the obstinacy of the Friends in retaining their head 
gear, that one writer, in evident exasperation, declares that 
" their virtue lies in their hats, as Samson's did in his hair." 
In the archaic language of George Fox, however, it was not 
permissible for an individual to " bow, or scrape with his leg 
to any one." In the year 1705, the privilege of wearing their 
hats in all courts of judicature in Pennsylvania was taken 
away. And it was accounted an occasion of special jubilation 
among the inhabitants of the Colony when their invaded right 
was subsequently restored by Governor Keith. 

The Friends even retained their hats in their religious gath- 
erings. They did this simply because they did not regard 
their houses of worship more holy than any other place. The 
women, however, when the Spirit moved them to preach, un- 
covered their heads. It appears also that all hats were removed 
during prayers. At an early date, it had been officially decreed 
that " it hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, in 
the performance of public prayers to the Lord, to pull off our 
hats." During prayers it was also customary for the audience 
to stand. But these were only a few of the peculiar features 
exhibited by their meetings for worship. The men, as a rule, 
sat on one side of the house ; the women occupied the other. 
As they possessed no designated or specially ordained preacher, 
the absence of the pulpit desk was conspicuous. As there 
might be, however, several voluntary speakers, a long plat- 

1 Col Hist, of U. S., I, 494. 



389] Customs and Laws. 9 

form was erected in front of the congregation. Here sat the 
ministers, the men facing the males in the audience ; the 
women, the females. Any one, who considered himself 
" moved thereto " had the privilege of addressing the assem- 
bly. No lines of demarcation were ever drawn between the 
male and female exhorters. And when the -Quakers were 
hard pressed with the Pauline text relative to women preach- 
ers, they would naively reply, "Thee knows Paul was not 
partial to females." 

In the early times, potentates, and rich men generally, were 
addressed in the plural; that is, as you, while persons belong- 
ing to the lower walks in life were almost invariably referred 
to as thou. The Society of Friends, abhorring all such arti- 
ficial and invidious distinctions, condemned this custom as 
unchristian. They determined to address everyone alike in 
the singular number. Then no one could accuse them of par- 
tiality. This, as Fox assures us, was a " sore cut to proud 
flesh," and doubtless he spoke truly. " This, among the 
rest," writes William Penn, " sounded so harsh to many of 
them, and they took it so ill, that they would say, ' Thou me, 
thou my dog. If thou thou'st me, I'll thou thy teeth down thy 
throat,' forgetting the language they use to God in their own 
prayers, and the Gommon style of the Scriptures, and that it is 
an absolute and essential property of speech." ^ The Quakers 
regarded the use of the plural number as obsequious flattery 
and adulation, hence their determined opposition to it. Their 
persistency in this matter, however, called down storms of 
indignant wrath and trenchant censure upon their devoted 
heads. A certain Mr. Jeff'rey contemptuously declared, " If 
'you' was applied to negroes, fellows, toad-eaters; how could 
the use of this pronoun be stigmatized as flattery?" He then 
affirms that to employ always the singular "Thou" would be 
just as reasonable as to talk always of our doublets and hose, 

^ Select Works, V, 223. 



10 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [390 

and eschew all mention of coats and stockings as fearful abom- 
inations. 

The Quakers likewise rejected the custom of saying, good- 
night, good-morning, good-day, or passing the other ordinary 
compliments of the season. Peun excuses such behavior by 
alleging that "they knew the night was good and the day was 
good without wishing of either," hence these phrases were 
regarded as mere useless words, which the Friends always 
abhorred and endeavored to avoid. "Besides," continues 
Penn, " they were words and wishes of course and are usually 
as little meant, as are love and service in the custom of cap and 
knee ; and superfluity in these, as well as in other things, was 
burdensome to them ; and therefore they did not only decline 
to use them, but found themselves often pressed to reprove 
the practice." ^ 

The members of the Society always recommended silence 
by example as well as by precept. They rarely employed 
more words than were absolutely necessary to convey the 
intended meaning. Penn earnestly advised his brethren and 
sisters in the faith to " avoid company where it is not profita- 
ble or necessary ; and in those occasions, speak little ; silence 
is wisdom, where speaking is folly." ^ Idle words and un- 
profitable conversation were considered as a waste of valuable 
time ; or worse still, as inconsistent with the serious hopes, 
duties and responsibilities of professing Christians. The 
Quakers firmly believed in the wisdom of the Royal Sage, 
that " in all labor there is profit ; but the talk of the lips 
tendeth only to penury." ^ 

Discarding the employment of all formalism, alike in their 
religious services and in their private life, it is not an occasion 
of surprise when we discover that the Quakers rejected the 
practice of saying grace at the table. When their meals were 
served, all those assembled around the board assumed a 



1 Sdect Works, V, 223. 

« Ibid., V, 134. » Proverbs, XIV, 23. 



391] Customs and Laxos. 11 

thoughtful attitude, with bowed heads, and maintained a 
rigid silence for several moments. If, during this interval 
no one appeared to be moved to make any utterance, they 
proceeded to attack the viands placed before them without* 
additional ceremony. 

The Society of Friends always entertained unmistakable 
aversion to games of chance — indeed, to every variety of gamb- 
ling, and measures looking towards the final suppression of 
this iniquity were early adopted. In the Great Law of Penn- 
sylvania, for instance, it was declared, " that if any person be 
Convicted of playing at Cards, Dice, Lotteries, or such like 
enticing, vain, and evil Sports and Games, such persons shall 
for every such offence, pay five shillings, or Suffer five Days 
Imprisonment (at hard labour) in the house of Correction." ^ 
But the Quakers, in their sectarian capacity, were urged to go 
farther. They were advised to shun even the appearance of 
evil, and to rigorously exclude from their possession any 
article that could be employed for the purposes of gambling. 
Despite these statutes and earnest admonitions, however, the 
investigator will discover that many packs of cards were 
annually imported into the Colony, and that too by members 
of the Society in high standing. In explanation of this ap- 
parent discrepancy, it will be sufficient to remark that these 
" devils' books " (as they were then stigmatized by individuals 
of pronounced religiosity) were intended for entirely different 
employment from that prohibited by the Colonial Legislature. 
Prior to the American Revolution, broadly speaking, the bits 
of pasteboard, which we now denominate visiting cards (by 
courtesy), were not known in Pennsylvania. Consequently a 
substitute had to be invented. And to supply this deficiency, 
playing cards were largely imported and extensively circulated. 
But tiiey were also necessary for still other purposes. In 
those days their backs were entirely blank, utterly destitute of 
the present attempts at ornamentation, and on the spaces thus 

' Linn, Charter and Laws, p, 144. 



12 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [392 

left vacant were imprinted invitations to receptions, tickets of 
admission to entertainments, and other matter of ,a similar 
character. 

Other methods of diversion, which the consensus of opinion 
of the fashionable ^vorld agreed in regarding as innocent and 
even beneficial, were likewise included under the ban of Qua- 
ker displeasure. The ancient philosopher Plato constantly- 
impressed upon the minds of his disciples the debasing char- 
acter of certain kinds of music ; but the good Friends, in this 
respect, far surpassed their illustrious prototype, for, with some 
trivial exceptions, they anathematized music in general, and 
denounced it as invariably corrupting in its tendencies. In 
the estimation of the founder of the Society, George Fox, such 
things were too redolent of the sensuous, the frivolous, the 
false, and the dissipated, to be admitted into the houses of 
professing Christians. But this aversion, apparently, was not 
peculiar to, or characteristic of, the Quaker sect. As early as 
the year 1536, the English Puritans had presented a formal 
protestation to their king, emphatically declaring " the playing 
at the organyes a foolish vanity." And the Friends, to this 
extent at least, following in footsteps of their dissenting 
brethren, strenuously opposed the introduction of musical 
instruments into their residences or meeting houses. Fox 
unhesitatingly affirms — and the majority of the inhabitants of 
Pennsylvania coincided perfectly in the opinion — " I was 
moved to cry against all kinds of music, for it burdeneth 
the pure life." It was "carnal wisdom to know music," and 
" fleshy exercise " to sing. But to prevent any misunder- 
standing, the erudite Barclay, in his Truth Cleared of Calum- 
nies, essays to present the precise status of this most interesting 
question. " That singing is a part of God's worship, and is 
warrantably performed amongst the saints," he writes, " is a 
thing denied by no Quaker so called, land it is not unusual 
among them, and that at times David's words may be used as 
the Spirit leads thereunto." He proceeds, moreover, to explain 
that the principal objection of the Friends to the use of vocal 



393] Oustonis and Laws. 13 

music in their worship consisted in the fact that a " mixed 
multitude, known to be drunkards, swearers," &c., &c., sing, 
and that indifferently all descriptions of psalms and hymns. 
Such persons, he continues, by reason of their dissolute char- 
acter, are eminently unsuitable to worship the Infinite Jehovah 
in this manner ; and their doing so, logically argues our author, 
would simply " cause our worship to be a lie." From these 
allusions, it appears sufficiently obvious to the student of 
theological creeds that the singing here preferred was of a 
kindred nature to that indulged in by the General Baptists, 
which is to say, that of a single person. Thus, therefore, in 
the opinion of the Quakers, the saints alone might sing praise 
to God : concerning the wicked, the unregenerate, the Society 
had an abiding belief that it would be more appropriate for 
them to " howl for their sins." 

As illustrative of their opinions concerning dancing, it will 
doubtless be sufficient to cite the following instance : In the 
year 1746, a certain Thomas Kinnett advertised to teach " the 
noble art of defence with small swords, and also dancing." 
Immediately upon the appearance of this notice, the Friends 
irately replied, that they were indeed " surprised at his au- 
dacity and brazen impudence in giving these detestable vices 
those high encomiums. They may be proved so far from 
accomplishments, that they are diabolical." 

Field sports also came in for their full share of condemna- 
tion at the hands of the Society, owing chiefly to the suffering 
they usually produced. The netting of animals for purposes 
of sustenance, however, was always permitted. Indeed, the 
killing of them in any other manner was never actually 
prohibited — always provided, of course, that this was done 
with the object of supplying food, and not for mere self- 
gratification. 

Being strenuously opposed to bloodshed of all descriptions, 
sanguinary sports were extremely repugnant to the Quakers. 
To the Friends, the only legitimate object of hunting and 
fishing was " that they may be accommodated with such 



14 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [394 

food and sustenance as God in His providence liath freely 
aiforded." 

To the theatre, determined opposition was made on the 
ground that it was a "corrupting agency." The objection 
appears to have rested, in addition to religious scruples, upon 
the supposition that it would encourage idleness, and draw 
large sums of money from " weak and inconsiderate persons, 
who are apt to be fond of such kinds of entertainments." The 
earliest mention, the writer has been able to discover, of a 
theatrical performance in the Colony of Pennsylvania occurs 
in January, 1749. In that year, a company composed of 
residents of the Province was suppressed by order of the au- 
thorities. After an interval of five years, however, an English 
company was licensed on the condition that their plays " be 
not indecent or immoral." The manager of the company was 
also required to devote the entire proceeds of one evening to 
the benefit of the indigent, and to become security for all debts 
or other obligations contracted by any member of his organi- 
zation. The triumph of the theatre seemed to be attained in 
1758, when an opera house was erected near the suburbs of 
Philadelphia, despite the relentless opposition of the Quakers. 
In the year 1759, a foreign theatrical company visited the 
metropolis of the Colony, and requested permission " to act 
their plays." The Governor allowed them to perform, under 
the proviso that the company should play one night for the 
benefit of the destitute in the Province. Most of the colonists, 
however, were united in their opposition to such " profane 
shows," and Judge Allen was nearly overwhelmed with peti- 
tions for injunctions to restrain the players. But this worthy, 
possibly entertaining secret fondness for such diversion him- 
self, refused to interfere. Shortly after this circumstance, the 
Judge's wife suddenly died, and this domestic misfortune was 
regarded by many individuals as a suitable judgment upon 
him for affording protection to " profane stage players." The 
following year, that is in 1760, a law was enacted for the 
suppression of theatres. " Whereas," runs its phraseology, 



395] Customs and Laws. 15 

"several companies of idle persons and strollers have come 
into this Province from foreign parts in the characters of 
players, erected stages and theatres and thereon acted divers 
plays by wliich the weak, poor, and necessitous have been 
prevailed on to neglect their labor and industry and to give 
extravagant prices for their tickets and great- numbers of 
disorderly persons have been drawn together in the night to 
the great distress of many poor families, manifest injury of 
this young Colony and grievous scandal of religion and the 
laws of this government. Be it therefore Enacted, That every 
person and persons whatsoever that from and after the First 
day of January which will be A. D., 1761, shall erect, build, 
or cause to be erected or build any play-house, theatre, stage 
or scaffold for acting, shewing or exliibiting any tragedy, 
comedy, farce, interlude, or other play, or part of a play what- 
soever, or shall act, shew or exhibit them, or any of them, or 
be in any ways concerned therein or in selling any of the 
tickets aforesaid in any city, town or place within this Pro- 
vince, and be thereof legally convicted in manner aforesaid 
shall forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred pounds lawful 
money aforesaid." ^ 

Attempts at ornamentation were also viewed with grave 
suspicion, because they were deemed frivolous, and anything 
partaking of this nature, the Quaker believed to be injurious. 
The houses of the Friends were generally very plain, and 
almost entirely innocent of any sort of adornment or ostenta- 
tion. Pictures for the decoration of their dwellings were used 
but sparingly. Wall paper was introduced, under protest, 
about the year 1790. Antecedent to this date, the reign of 
whitewash had been universal. Carpets were at this time 
deemed an undesirable luxury, for fresh sand was considered 
more healthful. But in the march of progress they had to 
come, and the year 1750 is given in the books as that of their 



^Seilhamer, History of the Amer. 1 heatre Before The Revolution. 



16 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [396 

advent. Sewel mentions a case where one gentleman, in his 
desire for simplicity, even banished from his fireside the luxury 
of a pair of tongs and substituted the primitive implement of 
a cloven stick. 

The reforming hand of the Society was likewise laid on the 
ordinary names of the days and months. The Quakers, re- 
garding these names as originating in mythological idolatry, 
discarded them as expressive of a sort of heathenish homage. 
Instead of these idolatrous appellations, a simple numerical 
nomenclature was therefore substituted. Henceforth the fourth 
day of the week, for example, was no longer to sport under 
the pagan name of Wednesday, but was to be known simply 
as fourth day. 

The Quakers drank no healths. The Great Law of Pennsyl- 
vania expressly interdicted such " vicious " practices. The 
use of tobacco, in any form, was also strongly discouraged. 
Penn disapproved of either smoking or chewing, and he ex- 
erted himself in every possible way to terminate this " evil." 
A man who was discovered smoking on the street in the 
city of Philadelphia was fined 12 pence and admonished 
not to repeat the offense} In addition to the moral, there 
appear to have been other important reasons, however, for this 
apparently arbitrary prohibition. In those early days, fire- 
extinguishing apparatus was in the embryonic stages of de- 
velopment, and conflagration constantly impended over every 
provincial town. Consequently the Quakers claimed that their 
prohibition was for the prevention of fire. In the year 1696, 
it had been enacted, " That no person shall presume to Smoke 
tobacco in the Streets, either by day or night and every person 
offending herein, shall forfeit for every such offense twelve 

^ The practice of the Friends in this particular, however, appears to have 
varied slightly in different localities. Thus, in North Carolina the use of 
"the weed" was not entirely prohibited. In 1726, all the members of the 
Society in this Colony were " advised to keep out of the excess [the italics 
are the writer's] of meats, drinks, and apparel, and smoking and chewing 
tobacco."— Hawks, Hist, of N. C, II, 325, 



397] Customs and Laws. 17 

pence, all which fines shall be paid to the respective Justices 
of each town, for the use of each town, and are to be employed 
for buying and providing Leather Buckets & other Instru- 
ments or Engines ag' fires, for the public use of each town 
respectively." ^ 

In the economy of the Friends, privateering, speculations, 
smuggling and all traffic or even the mere handling of the 
munitions of war, came in for their full share of disappro- 
bation. Translating their belief into practice the good pro- 
vincials never hesitated to express their strong displeasure on 
the occasion of any military demonstration. In 1 700, when 
William Penn returned to Pennsylvania, some of the ardent 
young men, in opposition to the direct command of the magis- 
trates, ventured to salute the Proprietor with a salvo of 
artillery. The operation, however, Avas performed in such an 
unscientific manner that it resulted in severe injury to several 
of the individuals participating. That they received little 
sympathy, it is superfluous to add. On the contrary the 
majority of the inhabitants regarded their misfortune as a 
providential rebuke of a tribute so unsuitable to members of 
their community. Instead of consolation, therefore, these 
aspiring youths were reminded in the language of the Scripture 
that "all they that take the sword, shall perish with the sword." ^ 

Juridical procedure among the Friends was both curious and 
instructive. When the members of the Society disagreed, they 
seldom scolded and rarely went to law. All their disputes were 
adjusted by what we call, in the language of administration. 
Boards of Arbitration. These Peace Commissions, so to speak, 
arranged all difficulties arising between the Europeans and the 
Indians, as well as settling altercations between the Colonists 
themselves. As regards composition, the bodies possessing such 
important functions, were usually as follows : ^ 



' Linn, Charter and Laws of Prov. Pa., p. 260. ^I Matt., xxvi, 52. 

* The early Christians settled all their disputes by arbitration. — Geffcken, 
Church and State, I, 103. 

2 



18 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [398 

Three persons were appointed by each County Court of 
Pennsylvania, and the individuals thus selected were invested 
with the honorable title of Peacemakers. Their chief duty 
was to mediate between contending parties, accommodating 
their contests, if possible, by their friendly services. Appeal 
to the usual course of the law was, however, permitted when 
one party refused to refer the matter in question to the Peace- 
makers, or when the point at issue could only be settled by 
the ordinary legal proceedings. When a Friend disagreed 
with a person outside the pale of the Society, he first proposed 
arbitration ; if this proposition was rejected, he then had no 
scruples about having recourse to the courts. Some of their 
disputes were very easily adjusted. In 1684, for instance, 
we read that " there being a Diiference depending between " 
Andrew Johnson and Hance Peterson, " the Gov'^ & Councill 
advised them to shake hands, and to forgive One another ; and 
Ordered that they should Enter in Bonds for fifty pounds 
apiece, for their good abearance, w'^'' accordingly they did." ^ 

Agesilaus, the famous King of Sparta, being asked on one 
occasion, " what ought children, to learn ? " quickly responded, 
" that which they ought to practice when they become men." 
With this opinion, Penn's belief coincided exactly. At an 
early period in his administration of the Quaker Colony he 
ordered that " all children within this province of the age of 
twelve years, shall be taught some useful trade or skill to the 
end none may be idle, but the poor may work to live, and the 
rich, if they become poor, may not want." He explains that 
his reason for this legislation was, that the children of the 
wealthy classes in England " were too generally brought up 
in pride and sloth, good for nothing to themselves or others." 
He took special care, therefore, that ample provision for the 
education of the young should be made in Pennsylvania. In 
his Frame of Government, Penn declared that a committee 
on manners, education, and art, should be appointed, so that 



1 Col. Rec. of Pa., I, 52. 



399] Customs and Laws. 19 

all " wicked and scandalous living may be prevented, and 
that youth may be trained up in virtue, and useful arts and 
knowledge." As early as 1683, an educational institution was 
established for the instruction of the children of the colonists. 
In that year " the Gov'' and Prov" Councill having taken into 
their Serious Consideration the great Necessity -there is of a 
School Master for y* Instruction & Sober Education of Youth 
in the towne of Philadelphia, Sent for Enoch Flower, an In- 
habitant of the said Towne, Avho for twenty year past hath 
been Exercised in that care and Imploym*^ in England, to 
whom having Communicated their Minds, he embraced it upon 
these following Termes : to Learn to read English 4^ by the 
Quarter, to Learn to read and write 6^ by y® Quarter, to learn 
to read. Write and Cast ace' 8' by y* Quarter ; for Boarding 
a Scholler, that is to say, dyet. Washing, Lodging, & School- 
ing, Tenn pounds for one whole year." ' 

In 1689, the Quakers opened another school for "all chil- 
dren and servants, male and female — the rich, at reasonable 
rates ; the poor, for nothing." George Keith was made prin- 
cipal of this foundation, and was assisted by a certain Thomas 
Makin, who, the records inform the reader, was " a good 
Latinist." The plan of instruction was similar to that of an 
ordinary modern grammar school, with the exception that its 
curriculum included " the learned languages." It was entirely 
supported by the Friends, but representatives of all denomi- 
nations were magnanimously permitted to share its advantages. 
In the year 1749, Franklin published his " Proposal Relative 
to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania," which resulted 
in the establishment of the Academy. This institution was 
promoted to collegiate rank about 1755 ; and, finally, in 1779, 
it was incorporated as the University of Pennsylvania.^ 



' Col. Eec. of Pa., I, 36. 

^Jn addition to the branches usually included in the curricula of such 
institutions, Cliapter LX, of the Great Law of Pennsylvania, was particular 
to specify "That the Laws of this Province, from time to time, shall be 



20 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [400 

In the early days of the Colony, great care was exercised 
to secure competent teachers. To this end, no person was 
permitted to " keep school " without first securing a license, 
and this document could only be obtained by satisfactorily 
passing the requisite examination. In 1693^ Thomas Meakin 
(our former acquaintance, now the victim of paronomasia) 
" keeper of the firee schoole in the town of Philadelphia, being 
called before the Lt. Go^ and Councill, was told that hee must 
not keepe school without a License, ansred that hee was willing 
to comply, and to take a Licence ; was therefore ordered to 
procure a Certificate of his abilitie. Learning & diligence, 
from the Inhabitants of note in this towne ... in order to 
the obtaining of a Licence, which he promised to do." ^ 

Notwithstanding the fact that so much attention was lavished 
on education in general, the age preceding the Declaration of 
Independence was not very favorable to the growth and 
development of the press and journalism. Only three papers 
were published in Philadelphia anterior to the American 
Revolution. These were The American Weekly Me7'cury, The 
Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser, and The Penn- 
sylvania Gazette. In 1719, the earliest venture was made. 
In that year. The 3Iercury first appeared. Its existence, 
however, was always extremely precarious, and in 1746, the 
paper was finally discontinued. Four years prior to this 
event, another paper had celebrated its debut in the Colony. 
This was The Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser. 
Its dimensions were insignificant, corresponding to a sheet of 
ordinary foolscap paper. Franklin had commenced the pub- 
lication of his paper, The Gazette, as early as 1729, and it 
maintained an independent existence until the middle of the 



published and printed, that every person may have the knowledge thereof; 
and they shall be one of the Books taught in the Schools of this Province 
and territorys thereof." In the light of this provision, no one could truth- 
fully plead ignorance of the law as an excuse. 
1 Col. Bee. of Pa., Vol. I, p. 345. 



401] Customs and Laws. 21 

succeeding century, when this publication was merged with 
another periodical. 

There are certain constant factors in almost every community 
— namely, marriage and giving in marriage. Cupid exhibited 
as much activity in the Quaker Colony as he did in other por- 
tions of the terrestrial globe. At the time, howe\*er, of which 
we write, bashful ness and modesty in youth were regarded as 
ornaments, nay even as great virtues. " Young lovers," says 
Watson, "then listened and took side-long glances when before 
their parents or elders." ' But, how these hopefuls behaved 
iu the absence of the aforesaid worthies, we are not informed, 
for the annalist breaks off suddenly at this point, as if fearful 
of startling denouements if the narrative were further con- 
tinued. 

Marriage among the Friends was a very important insti- 
tution, and weddings were always the occasions of great 
festivity. The matches appear to have arisen solely from 
inclination. "Never marry but for love," is William Penn's 
advice to all, "but see that thou lovest what is lovely."^ The 
Quakers, moreover, gave considerable publicity to the celebra- 
tion of marriage. Before the union could be consummated, 
the intentions of the persons concerned were promulgated by 
affixing a declaration to that effect on the Court or Meeting- 
house door ; and when the act was finally solemnized at least 
twelve subscribing witnesses had to be present. 

In regard to the ceremony employed, it will be sufficient to 
remark that they rejected the mode adopted by the Protestant 
sects, as well as that employed by the Roman Catholic Church, 
and introduced a simple form of marriage in the meeting of 
their own Society. The priest and the ring were discarded 
as being utterly heathenish. " Ceremonies," declares Penn, 
" they have refused not out of humor, but conscience reason- 
ably grounded ; inasmuch as no Scripture-example tells us, 
that the priest had any other part, of old time, than that of a 

1 Annals, I, 174. "^ Select Works, V, 129. 



22 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [402 

witness among the rest, before whom the Jews used to take 
one another ; and therefore this people look upon it as an 
imposition, to advance the power and profits of the clergy ; 
and for the use of the ring, it is enough to say, that it was an 
heathenish and vain custom, and never practiced among the 
people of God, Jews or primitive Christians.'" ^ 

The Friends, in the language of George Fox, declared, 
" We marry none, but are witnesses of it ; marriage being 
God's joining, not man's." Penn said the Quakers believed 
" that marriage is an ordinance of God, and that God only can 
rightly join men and women in marriage." ^ When a mar- 
riage was contemplated, the Monthly Meeting had to be noti- 
fied of it, and the form of the paper submitted to this assembly 
was about as follows: "We, the subscribers, A. B., son of C, 
and D. B. ; and F. G., daughter of H., and I. G., purpose 
taking each other in marriage, which we hereby offer for the 
approbation of Friends." Then followed the signatures of 
the contracting individuals. If no sufficient reasons were dis- 
covered for preventing the union, the hymeneal ceremony was 
performed at the appointed time. 

Originally, the weddings even of the unostentatious mem- 
bers of the Society were very expensive and the ceremonies 
harrassing to the wedded — in fact, to all but the invited 
guests. The company usually assembled early in the morn- 
ing, remained to dinner, possibly even to supper. For two 
entire days, it was customary to deal out refreshments with a 
lavish hand to all who honored the family with their presence. 
The gentlemen congratulated the groom on the first floor of 
the dwelling, and then ascended to the second story, where 
they wished future felicity to the blushing bride. After these 
preliminaries, this unfortunate female was compelled, by the 
unwritten law of the time, to undergo the ordeal of being 
kissed by all the male visitors. 



^ Select Works, V, 225. ^ Rise and Progress, 35. 



403] Custoins and Lcms. 23 

It is somewhat astonishing, when we reflect, that the 
Quakers, strenuously opposed, as they unquestionably were, 
to all sorts of frivolity and ceremony, ever submitted to such 
veritable nuisances as these weddings soon turned out to be. 
The annalist, Watson, relates on credible authority, that it 
was nothing uncommon for families in affluent circumstances 
to have "120 persons to dine — the same who had signed their 
certificate of marriage at the Monthly Meeting." " These," 
he adds, " also partook of tea and supper." ^ At first, these 
elaborate ceremonies were accepted, if not without question, 
certainly without expressed opposition. Finally, however, 
the good Friends revolted from all this worldly excitement 
and round of festivity. At length, such frivolities were 
relegated to the limbo of exploded vanities, and matrimonial 
alliances were attended with no other ceremony than that of the 
parties taking each other by the hand in public meeting and 
avowing their willingness to enter the connubial state. After 
these informal exercises, the marriage certificate was registered 
in the record book belonging to the Meeting where the mar- 
riage was solemnized, and this simple act completed the cere- 
mony. 

If the union were blessed with issue, all ceremony was 
likewise rejected in naming the offspring. As a rule, chil- 
dren were named by their parents in the presence of a mid-wife, 
or of those that were present at the birth. These witnesses 
subsequently affixed their signatures to the natal certificate, 
and this paper was then duly recorded in the book of that 
Monthly Meeting to which the parents belonged. 

The funeral customs of the Friends were as unostentatious 
as their form of marriage. The body of the deceased was 
generally taken to the nearest meeting-house so as to accommo- 
date relatives and acquaintances, who might desire to attend 
the interment. Here a short pause was made, during which 
any person, who felt himself moved to speak, was at liberty 

' Annals, I, 178. 



24 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [404 

to address the assembled congregation. The corpse was then 
•conveyed to the cemetery, usually by several young men. 
When the burial ground was reached, the pall bearers deposited 
the body so that the relatives might take their last look at the 
remains of their departed loved one. This procedure was 
moreover to the end that " the spectators have a sense of mor- 
tality, by the occasion then given them to reflect upon their 
own latter end." ^ Thomas Story, who was present at the 
funeral of William Penn, describes his experience in the fol- 
lowing words : " A solid time of worship we had together, 
but few words among us for some time. ... I accompanied 
the corpse to the grave, where we had a large meeting." 

No mourning was ever worn for departed friends. Crape 
was accounted as especially heathenish, and not in accordance 
with Biblical precepts. Penn declares "that what mourning 
is fit for a Christian to have, at the departure of a beloved 
relation or friend should be worn in the mind, which is only 
sensible of the loss."^ Even the casket was denied its usual 
black covering.^ 

No vaults were used. Tombstones were also rejected. They 
were considered an especial abomination. In a word, the 
Friends dispensed with all kinds of ceremonies. The Society 
regarded the substance of things ; not mere external appear- 
ances. 

The Quakers, in all transactions with their fellow men, 
endeavored to preserve the strictest honesty, and in some in- 
stances, the reader with difl&culty represses a smile at the form 
this integrity assumed. In 1721, for example, we find the 
curious statement that a certain William Ganlan was fined 
" as he did with his breath and wind blow up the meat of his 
calf, whereby the meat was made unwholesome to the human 
body." Another case occurred in the year 1700, " Upon 



^Penn, Select Works, V, 226. ^ Ibid. 

^ " The corpse being in a plain coffin, without any covering or furniture upon 
it.— Penn's Works, Y, 226. 



405] Customs and Laws. 25 

Complaint of y^ poor ag' y^ bakers of bread for sale not being 
of the Law'^ & due assize," so runs the language of the record, 
" Justinian Fox, Jn° Sawtell, Aurther Holton, Wm. Royal, 
Geo. Abbiott, Marie Merryweather, Tho. Hall & Hugh 
Derburrow, being summoned appeared to whom the Go'' no- 
tified y'^ said Complaint ; Who generallie ansred, y' tho it was 
hard for you to Live by itt, wheat being now 5s. 6d. p. bush., 
& y* they buing but smal stocks wer outt-bid by the eminent 
merts and bolters ; yet hoped y"^ bread was of y® due assize, 
the prov. & Go" advised you to be conformable to y" Laws in 
that behalfe made, & said hee would appoint a Clark of y* 
market to y® end."^ 

Dentistry appears to have found no very congenial soil 
in early Pennsylvania. Tooth brushes were an unheard-of 
luxury ; an innovation not to be tolerated even in thought. 
The most fastidious and respectable individuals were con- 
tent to rub their teeth Avith a chalked rag, or, worse still, 
with snuff; while some conservative persons even went so 
far as to deem it an unmistakable token of effeminacy in 
men to be caught cleaning their teeth at all. At this period, 
the dental art had scarcely emerged from its rude begin- 
nings. But, curiously enough, some of the triumphs of 
which the present century is so proud, were well known at 
this time. Reference is especially made to the process of 
traTisplanting teeth, as it was then called. By a printed ad- 
vertisement, which appeared in the year 1784, Dr. Le Mayeur, 
one of the first dentists who practiced in the city of Phila- 
delphia, engaged to pay two guineas for each tooth which may 
be offered him by " persons disposed to sell their front teeth, 
or any of them." These were wanted for the operation, tech- 
nically denominated transplanting, by which a perfect tooth 
is extracted from the mouth of one living person and embedded 
in that of another. This enterprising doctor appears to have 
been extremely successful in his specialty, for it is authentically 

^ Col. Rec. of Pa., 1,546. 



26 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [406 

related that he "transplanted" as many as 123 teeth in the 
comparatively short space of six months/ 

The field of employment in colonial Pennsylvania was well- 
nigh unlimited, and scarcity of work was a thing unheard 
of. The industrious could always find congenial employ- 
ment without much difficulty. The hours of labor as well 
as the times for refreshment appear to have been regulated 
in the various trades, and were generally announced by the 
ringing of bells. 

In some respects, the Philadelphia of this period reminds 
the historical student of Geneva at the time of Calvin. After 
nine o'clock at night, the officers — at first all private citizens 
serving in succession — inspected the town, and no inhabitant 
thereof was permitted to remain at any ordinary ^ after that 
hour without good and sufficient reason. " It is worthy of 
commendation," writes Thomas Chakeley, in his interesting 
journal, " that our Governor, Thomas Lloyd, sometimes in the 
evening, before he went to rest, used to go in person to the 
public houses, and order the people he found there to their 
own houses, till at length he was instrumental to promote the 
better order, and did in a great measure suppress vice and 
immorality in the city" of Philadelphia. 

Originally, the Quakers prescribed no particular style of 
dress; for, in their judgment, it was "no vanity to use what 
the country naturally produced," and they reproved nothing 
but that extravagance in raiment which " all sober men of all 
sorts readily grant to be evil." Wigs were at this period d, la 
mode, and even the inhabitants of Pennsylvania succumbed to 
the seductive influences of this worldly custom. In the year 
1719, a prominent Friend, ordering his wearing apparel, 
writes, " I want for myself and ray three sons, each a wig — 
light, gild bobs." Even Franklin, disdainful as he was of 
display and artificiality, wore a tremendous horse-hair wig. 



1 U. S. Census (18S0) Social. Stat, of Cities, I, 785. 
^ The ancient word for inn or hotel. 



407] Customs and Laics. 27 

And Penn's private expense book reveals the startling fact 
that even the Proprietary of the Province indulged in these 
vanities to the extent of four wigs per annum. 

In early times, too, the Quaker women wore their colored 
silk aprons as did the aristocratic ladies of other denominations. 
And the wealthy female members of the Society- also arrayed 
themselves in white satin petticoats embroidered with flowers, 
and pearl satin gowns, with peach-colored cloaks of the same 
material. Their white and shapely necks were ornamented 
with delicate lawn or lace, and also with charms. In course 
of time, however, white aprons were discarded by the elite, 
and then the Friends abandoned colors and adopted white. 
The Quaker ladies also wore immense beaver hats, which had 
scarcely any crown, and were fastened to the head by silken 
cords tied in a bewitching bow under the chin. This was the 
so-called Skimming dish hat. Such a bonnet was purchased 
for seven or eight dollars, when beaver fur was plentiful. To 
be sure, even this was a somewhat extravagant price, but with 
the exercise of proper care such a hat was a life-long investment. 
If it were not a thing of beauty, yet it might be a joy forever. 

The Quaker dress, however, gradually assumed a more sub- 
dued form. Subsequently, broad-brimmed hats, coats with 
straight collars, the peculiar female dress — articles so familiar 
in our own day — were introduced. Drab eventually became 
the prevailing color for the ladies. Metallic buttons, so fash- 
ionable at this time, were not used by the Friends, ^yhen 
shoe buckles were worn with so much display, the good 
Quakers employed leather straps as answering the purpose 
equally well, and being more consistent with their profession 
as disciples and followers of the lowly Nazarene. Thus the 
wearing apparel became more and more simplified until Penn 
unhesitatingly declares, " if thou art clean and warm it is suf- 
ficient ; for more clothes but robs the poor, and pleases the 
wanton." ' 

'Select Works, V, 128. 



28 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [408 

In the year 1771, the first umbrellas made their appearance 
in Philadelphia, and were scouted by the more conservative 
as ridiculous affectations. Afterwards, however, when the 
important character of their services was more fully under- 
stood and appreciated, their reception was decidedly more 
cordial. 

In Quaker theology, all magic and exorcism were relegated 
to their own place, to the world of phantoms. While other 
colonies were fairly intoxicated with sorcery ; when the theory 
of witches' marks was conscientiously believed in as an ap- 
pendix to Revelation ; when the spitting of pins by the 
plaintiff demonstrated beyond all peradventure diabolical 
influences, and was regarded as sufficient evidence to send 
the unfortunate defendant to the gallows ; when decrepit old 
women were supposed to find indescribable delight in canter- 
ing through space on the conventional broomstick, and in per- 
forming other gymnastics, as unknown to common sense as to 
reason — while all this was believed elsewhere, we discover 
only one such case in the Province of Pennsylvania. This 
occurred on the 27th day of December, in the year 1683, when 
one Margaret Mattson was indicted and tried on the charge 
of being a confirmed witch. The accusation against her con- 
sisted of a number of vague, incoherent, and irrational stories. 
It was related of her that she bewitched calves, geese, and 
had caused unsuspecting cows to do many queer and truly 
thaumaturgic acts. A certain " Henry Drystreet attested, 
Saith he was tould 20 years agoe, that the prisoner at the 
Barr was a Witch, & that severall Cows were bewitched by 
her ; also that James Saunderling's mother tould him that 
she bewitched her Cow, but afterwards said it was a mistake, 
and that her Cow should doe well againe, for it was not her 
Cow, but an Other Person's that should dye." Moreover, 
even Mrs. Mattson's daughter testified to the astounding fact 
that her mother was beyond all question in league with his 
Satanic majesty. Notwithstanding, however, all this weight 
of testimony, the jury, after receiving the charge from the 



409] Oustoms and Laws. 29 

judge brought in the rather ambiguous verdict that they 
found her " Guilty of having the Common fame of a Witch, 
but not Guilty in manner and form as Shee Stands Indicted." ^ 
Conviction would have been almost pardonable in a day 
when men like Richard Baxter and Cotton Mather did not 
hesitate to record their faith in "a God, a devil, and witch- 
craft " — at a time when John Wesley positively declared that 
to give up witchcraft would be to surrender the Bible itself, 
and when even the great Quaker, George Fox, believed in 
" familiar spirits." William Penn, however, incorporated 
no such fatuous doctrine among his accepted beliefs, and the 
alleged witch was accordingly released. By this judicious 
conduct, Pennsylvania, in all probability, escaped the odium 
of Salem. 

On one occasion, Coleridge described a Quaker as "a curious 
combination of ice and flame," signifying thereby that he was 
essentially an extremist. With all possible deference to the 
opinion of the English poet, it must be said, however, tlrat 
one may ransack history in vain for substantiation and verifi- 
cation of this assertion. Examination invariably discovers 
the Friends ranging themselves on the side of moderation. 
No one, who candidly and impartially investigates their cus- 
toms, can escape this conclusion, even were he so inclined. 
Feasts, fastings — excesses, in general, received their most un- 
qualified condemnation, and that from the earliest dawn of 
their history down to the present generation. Like a steam- 
ship attempting to enter some rock-bound harbor, like that 
of St. John's, in the Island of New Foundland, the Society 
believed that only by avoiding extremes, the perilous head- 
lauds on either side of the entrance, could they reasonably 
expect to find a channel that would conduct them past dan- 
gerous obstructions into the tranquil haven beyond. 



1 Col. Bees, of Fa., I, 40-41. 



II. 

Quaker Legislation. 

In the language of what might be designated as the Consti- 
tution of Pennsylvania, it was announced that the govern- 
mental machinery of the Colony was to consist of the Governor 
and freemen of the said province, in form of a Provincial 
Council and General Assembly, " and further that these two 
political bodies, by and with the consent of the Governor 
aforesaid, should pass all the necessary enactments, select and 
appoint all public functionaries — in short, transact official 
business of every sort." ^ 

In composition, however, neither the Council nor the Assem- 
bly offers any essential characteristics that distinguish them 
from the corresponding legislative bodies existing in the other 
colonies. The freemen were simply empowered to select "out 
of themselves seventy-two persons of most note for their wis- 
dom, virtue, and ability," who were to be " called and act as 
the Provincial Council of the said Province." ^ One-third of 
the members constituting this body were to retire annually. 
Moreover " in this Provincial Council, the Governor or his 
deputy shall or may always preside, and have a treble voice ; 
and the said Provincial Council shall always continue, and 
sit upon its own adjournments and committees."^ It was 
farther provided that not less than two-thirds of the whole 
Council was to constitute a quorum. And " to the end that 
all laws prepared by the Governor and Provincial Council 
aforesaid, may yet have the more full concurrence of the free- 

1 Frame, Sec. I. * Ibid., Sec. II. » Ibid., Sec. VI. 

30 



411] Customs and Laws. 31 

men of the province, it is declared, granted, and confirmed, 
that at the time and place or places for the choice of a Provin- 
cial Council as aforesaid, the said freedmen shall yearly choose 
members to serve in General Assembly as their representa- 
tives, not exceeding two hundred persons." ^ And provision 
was also made that all elections were to be by ballot. 

In this Frame, it was likewise stated "that for the bettei' 
establishment of the Government and laws of this province, 
and to the end there may be an universal satisfaction in the 
laying of the fundamentals thereof; the General Assembly 
shall or may for the first year consist of all the freemen of and 
in said province, and ever after it shall be yearly chosen as 
aforesaid; which number of two hundred shall be enlarged as 
the country shall increase in people, so as it do not exceed five 
hundred at any time."^ But even the number two hundred 
was never reached. It was soon ascertained to be inconve- 
nient, and was therefore abandoned. The first Assembly only 
contained seventy-two members, and its successors were usually 
composed of thirty-six persons, distributed among the different 
counties and the city of Philadelphia. 

In the year 1696, the system of representation was somewhat 
modified. Then it was determined that " two persons out of 
each of the Counties of this government" were "to serve as 
the peoples' Representatives in Council;" and that "four per- 
sons out of each of the said Counties" were "to serve as Rep- 
resentatives in Assembly." ^ No law could be proposed in the 
more popular bi-anch, except such as had been previously con- 
sidered by the Governor and his Council. This provision 
almost carries the mind back to Athenian politics, w^here the 
same precaution was ascertained to be necessary. In spite of 
the fact, however, that the Assembly could not originate legis- 
lation, it possessed many important functions. That astute 
statesman, Frederick the Great of Prussia, once declared that 
" Finance was the pulse of the State." As the Assembly 

1 Ihid., Sec. XIV. * Sec. XVI. « Frame of 1696, Sec. II. 



32 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [412 

controlled the purse strings of the Colony, it was virtually 
invested with the political supremacy. 

Such then, in outline, was the governing body of Pennsyl- 
vania. The first General Assembly of the Province was con- 
vened at Chester in 1682, at which time the Great Law was 
passed. The first formal, political body that ever assembled 
in the city of Philadelphia was held at the Friends' meeting- 
house the succeeding year, that is, in 1683. The Government 
was now completely organized. It speedily commenced to 
busy itself in legislation, and as many of its chief peculiari- 
ties are to be sought in activity of this description, we may 
glance at some of the more striking and characteristic enact- 
ments. 

The one notable measure passed by the first Assembly of 
Philadelphia was that referring disputes to arbitration. The 
law provided that three peacemakers, after the manner of 
common arbitrators, were to be selected by each county court, 
that they might hear and terminate all controversies and dif- 
ferences.^ Some very amusing sumptuary laws were also 
introduced during this session. For instance, it was pro- 
posed that no inhabitant should be permitted to have more 
than two suits of wearing apparel ; one ostensibly intended 
for summer ; the other for winter. Other members, possibly 
proceeding upon the principle that misery loves company, 
advocated the measure that young men be compelled to enter 
into matrimonial alliances upon the acquisition of a specified 
age. But the majority of the Quakers were not prepared for 
such drastic enactments as these ; consequently, the proposi- 
tions in question were dropped. 

Other more important matters demanded attention. All 
through their history, the Quakers strenuously opposed all 
unlawful sensual indulgences ; consequently the authorities 



1 In 1683,. a " Petition of Rich'd Wells " was read, and " Ordered that he 
be referred to ye Peacemakers, and in case of Eefusal to ye County Court, 
according to Law." Col. Rec. of Pa., Vol. I, p. 34. 



413] Customs and Laivs. 33 

soon began to legislate for the suppression of irregularities of 
this description. It was, indeed, the very first Assembly con- 
vened in the metropolis (if the expression be allowed) which 
enacted the following law : * " And to prevent Clandestine, 
Loose, and unseemly proceedings in this Province and terri- 
tories thereof, about marriage, Be it, &c.. That aW marriages 
not forbidden by the law of God, shall be encouraged ; But 
the parents and guardians shall be, if possible, first Consulted ; 
And the parties clearnes from all other engagements assured 
by a Certificate from some Crediable persons where they had 
lived ; And by their affixing of their intentions of Marriage 
on the Court or Meeting-house Door of the County wherein 
they Dwell, one Month before the solemnizing thereof; And 
their said Marriage shall be solemnized by taking one another 
as husband and wife, before Sufficient Witnesses ; And a cer- 
tificate of the whole under the hands of parties and witnesses 
(at least twelve) shall be brought to the Register of the County, 
where they are Marryed, and be Registered in his office. And 
if any person shall presume to marry or to join any in Mar- 
riage Contrary hereunto, such person so Marrying shall pay 
ten pounds, and such person so joining others in Marriage 
shall pay twenty pounds." ^ 

By the authority of the Great Law of Pennsylvania, it was 
declared that " no person, be it either widower or widow, shall 
contract marriage, much less marry, under one year after the 



' Ibid., p. 151. Re-enacted in 1690, and again in 1693. 

' November 20, 1703, the President made complaint " agst Andrew Bank- 
son, one of ye Justices of Philada County, for irregularly marrying a couple 
lately according to law, but against ye Prohibitions of ye Parents." When 
brought before the Council the Justice "declared that he was wholly 
ignorant of its being illegal, & was heartily sorry for what was done, 
promising that whether he should continue in Commission, or otherwise, 
this should be such a caution to him as to prevent him of committing the 
like for ye future, & being severely checked, was dismissed." Col. Rec. of 
Pa., II, 115. 
3 



34 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [414 

decease of his wife or her husband." ^ In 1690, it was enacted 
that any one committing adultery should^ "for the first ofiPense 
be publicly whipt and suflPer one whole year's imprisonment 
in the house of Correction at hard labour, to the behoof of 
the publick." For a second infraction of the law, the penalty 
was "imprisonment in manner aforesaid During Life."^ 

Incest and bigamy, being transgressions of a similar char- 
acter, were likewise severely punished. In 1705, the pun- 
ishment of these offences was somewhat modified. In order 
that imprisonment provided for by the penal law might be 
dreaded, in 1682 a bill had been passed to the effect that "all 
prisons will be work-houses for felons, Thiefs, Vagrants, and 
Loose, abusive and Idle persons whereof one shall be in every 
county." * 

Next to impurity in point of heinousness to the Quakers, 
came profanity,^ and at an early date measures were adopted 
for its suppression. In 1682, the organic law of the Colony 
upon this subject was, " That whosoever Shall Swear in their 
Common Conversation, by the name of God, or Christ, or 
Jesus, being Legally Convicted thereof, shall pay for every 
such offence five shillings, or suffer five days' imprisonment 
in the house of Correction, at hard labour, to the behoof of the 
publick, and be fed with bread and water only, During that 



^ This regulation as regards the females is found in the ancient Saxon 
law, which prohibited a widow from intermarrying within twelve months 
after the decease of her consort. Vide LI. Ethel, A. D., 1008. LI. Canut, 
c. 71. The purpose of this provision was to establish, with certainty, the 
paternity of the progeny. If the widow were permitted to enter into new 
matrimonial alliances, within the ordinary period of gestation, after the 
determination of the coverture, the issue would have two putative fathers, 
thus making the real parent impossible of ascertainment. Trivial as this 
matter may appear to the uninitiated layman, those acquainted with the 
laws of inheritance need not be reminded that the subject is one of con- 
siderable importance. 

*Constantine made adultery a capital crime. ^Linn, 194. 

* Oreat Law of Pa. Chap. LIX. Re-enacted in 1690. 

* Great Law of Pa., Chap. LIV. Re-enacted in 1690. 



415] Customs and Laivs. 35 

time. . . . Whosoever Shall Swear by any other thing or 
name, and is Legally convicted thereof, shall for every such 
offence, pay half a Crown or suffer three days' imprisonment 
in the house of Correction, at hard labour, having only bread 
and water for their sustenance." ' 

This law was substantially re-enacted in 1690.^ " It was then 
declared " that whosoever shall, in their Conversation at any 
time curse himself or another or any other thing belonging to 
himself or any other, and is Legally convicted thereof. Shall 
pay for every such offence five shillings, or suffer five days' 
imprisonment as aforesaid."^ Speaking obscenely was also 
punishable by a fine. 

In the year 1700, legislative activity produced a new law 
against cursing. An act was then introduced and approved 
"to prevent the grievous Sins of cursing and Swearing within 
this Province and Territories." The wording of the statute 
was as follows : " Be it Further Enacted by the Authority 
aforesaid. That whosoever shall willfully, premeditatedly and 
despitefully, blaspheme or speak loosely and profanely of 
Almighty God, Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or the Scrip- 
tures of Truth, and is legally convicted thereof, shall forfeit 
and pay the sum of Ten Pounds, for the Use of the Poor of 
the County, where such offence shall be committed, or suffer 
three months' Imprisonment at hard Labour as aforesaid, for 
the Use of the said Poor." * From the records we glean that 
a butcher was indicted in 1702 as a common swearer "for 
swearing three oaths in the market place, and for uttering two 
very bad curses." ^ Although this language can scarcely fail to 



1 Ibid., Chaps. Ill and IV. ' And again in 1697. 

3 Linn, 193. * Laws of Pa., Vol. I, p. 6. 

^ In 1690, President Lloyd, on the basis of a letter received from "a very 
Credible person," endeavored to exclude Thomas Clifton from the Council, 
alleging "that he was not for Yea and Nay, but for God Damm You." The 
charge was denied by the said Clifton, and the Board " having only paper 
Evidence, Resolved that He be admitted at present, but upon further proof 
made of ye ffact, Immediately dismissed." Col. Bee. of Pa., I, 282. 



36 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [416 

provoke a smile on the part of the reader, it bears sufficient 
evidence to the fact that the Quakers did not intend their laws 
to be mere ornaments on their statute books. Even the best 
intentioned human efforts, however, are not always successful, 
and notwithstanding the earnest endeavors of the Friends to 
the contrary, the " cursing and swearing " did not completely 
disappear. Even as late as 1746, we discover that still an- 
other measure was approved, entitled " An Act for the more 
effectual suppression of profane cursing and swearing." ' 

Any one in Pennsylvania who was rash enough to offer, or 
to accept a challenge to fight a duel paid dearly for the luxury. 
The law of 1682 took especial care to provide " that whosoever 
shall Challenge another person to fight, hee that Challengeth 
and hee that accepted the Challenge, shall for every such 
offence, pay five pounds, or suffer three months' imprisonment 
in the House of Correction at hard Labour." ^ A similar en- 
actment was passed in 1690, and this was followed by an act 
adopted ten years later, " to prevent all Duelling and fighting 
of Duells within this Province and Territories." ^ 

In supposed harmony with the regulations of the Scriptures, 
capital offences were punished by execution. In 1683, the law 
was framed and passed providing " that if any person within 
this Province, or territories thereof. Shall wilfully or premedi- 
tately kill another person, or wilfully or premeditately be the 
cause of, or accessory to the Death of any person. Such person 
Shall, according to the law of God, Suffer Death : And one 
half of his Estate shall go to his wife and Children ; And if 
no Wife nor Children, then to the next of his kindred, not 
Descending Lower than the third Degree ; to be Claimed 
within three years after his Death ; And the other half of his 
estate to be Disposed of, as the Governor shall see meet." ^ 

But other transgressions were not forgotten, especially was 
this true of the "unruly member." As early as 1683, a law 



1 Ibid., Vol, I, p. 212. "^ Great Law of Pa. See XXV. 

3 Laws of Pa., Vol. I, p. 6. * Linn, p. 144. Re-enacted in 1690. 



417] Customs and Laws. 37 

had passed the Assembly " to the end that the Exorbitancy 
of the tongue may be bridled and Rebuked, Be it &c., That 
every person Convicted before any Court or Magistrate for 
Rallying or Scolding ; Shall Stand one whole hour in the most 
public place, where Such offence was Committed, with a Gagg 
in their Mouth or pay five shillings." ^ In 1701, the Assembly 
passed another law for the punishment of the " vices of 
Scolding, drunkenness, and for the restraining of the practice 
drinking healths." Drunkenness was always regarded by the 
Quakers as a sin of considerable enormity, consequently they 
put forth their utmost endeavors for the suppression of this 
iniquity. It had been enacted in the year 1682, that any 
person found "abusing himself with Drink unto Drunkenness 
was, for the first offence to pay five shillings, or work five 
days in the house of Correction at hard Labour and be fed 
only with bread and water ; and for the second offence, and 
ever after, ten shillings, or ten days labour as aforesaid." And 
those "who doe suffer such excess of Drinking att their 
houses, shall be liable to the same punishment with the 
Drunkard." ^ In 1683, we ascertain that a certain John 
Richardson was compelled to pay "five shillings for being 
disordered in Drink," and that he was sharply rebuked for his 
wickedness." ' But this example it appears did not deter 
Timothy Metcalf from indulging in similar dissipation, for the 
record avers that he was guilty of unseemly conduct owing to 
his looking on the wine when it w^as red. 

Gambling was always specially hateful to the Quakers, and 
measures were early employed for its prevention. Indeed the 
Great Law of Pennsylvania itself declared, " That if any per- 
son be Convicted of playing at Cards, Dice, Lotteries, or such 
like enticing, vain, and evil Sports and Games, such persons 
shall, for every such offence, pay five shillings, or Suffer five 



' Ibid., p. 145. 

* Great Law of Pa., Chaps. XII-XIII. Re-enacted in 1690. 

3 Col. Bee, I, 4. 



38 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [418 

Days Imprisonment (at hard labour) in the house of Correc- 
tion." ^ 

Along with the immigrants belonging to the Society, a great 
many persons had " filtered " into the Colony who had very 
little regard for religion in general and the Christian Sabbath 
in particular. For the benefit of such individuals, the As- 
sembly was careful to pass a law in the year 1690. " That 
Looseness, Irreligion, and Atheism," it reads, " may not creep 
in under the pretence of Conscience in this Province, Be it 
further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That, according to 
the example of the primitive Christians, and for the ease of 
the Creation, Every first day of the week, called the Lord's 
Day, People shall abstain from their usual and common toil 
and labour, That whether Masters, Parents, Children, or 
Servants, they may the better dispose themselves to read the 
Scriptures of truth at home, or frequent such meetings of 
Religious worship abroad, as may best sute their respective 
persuasions." ^ Such was the measure of 1690. It was sub- 
stantially re-enacted in the year 1705, when a statute was 
passed entitled, " An act to restrain People from Labour on 
the First day of the Week." It Went on to state that " ac- 
cording to the Example of the primitive Christians, and for 
the Ease of the Creation, every First Day of the Week, com- 
monly called Sunday, all People shall abstain from Toil and 
Labour, that whether Masters, Parents, Children, Servants, 
or others, they may the better dispose themselves to read and 
hear the Holy Scriptures of Truth at Home, and frequent 
such Meetings of religious Worship Abroad, as may best suit 
their respective Persuasions." Nothing in this enactment, 
however, was to " prevent the Victualling-houses, or other 
public House or Place from supplying the necessary Occasions 
of Travellers, Inmates, Lodgers, or others, on the First Day 
of the Week with Victuals and Drink in moderation, for 
Reefreshment." Then follows the curious clause, " of which 

1 Chap. XXVII. '' Linn, p. 192. 



419] Customs and Laws. 39 

necessary Occasion for Refreshment, as also Moderation, the 
Magistrate before whom Complaint is made shall be Judge, 
any Law, Usage or Custom, in this Province to the contrary 
notwithstanding." ^ 

Thus it will be observed that the good Quakers, in their 
zeal and -anxiety for the spiritual welfare of humanity, did 
not entirely ignore the more material side of the question, to 
wit — the temporal requirements of man. Yet, in strict ac- 
cordance with the customs of the Society, the refreshment 
administered was always to be in moderation. If these bounds 
were passed, the person was regarded as a transgressor, and as 
such was subject to the prescribed penalty. Violations of the 
Sunday Laws were generally punished by the imposition of 
fines. For instance, laboring on the Sabbath incurred a for- 
feiture of 20 shillings ; while tippling in a tavern on that day 
could only be atoned for by a fine of 10 shillings. It is a 
noteworthy fact that there was not so much Sabbatarian legis- 
lation in Pennsylvania as we find burdening the statute books 
of Virginia, Massachusetts, and some of the other colonies, 
and yet the sacredness of the day was rigidly enforced — with 
what strictness even a cursory perusal of the records will 
accpiaint the investigator. In 1703, for example, we find that 
a certain barber was presented to the grand jury for " trim- 
mings on the first day of the week." 

In the Quaker economy, the obedience of children to their 
parents was always emphasized, was, in truth, enforced by 
law. The act, which passed in 1690, stipulated that any one 
assaulting his or her parent was to be " committed to the house 
of Correction, and there remain at hard labour, during the 
pleasure of the said parent." ^ 

The Friends opposed the so-called heathenish names of the 
days and months. If the world persisted in clinging to this 
" barbarous " custom, the Society determined it would not. 
A law regulating the matter was therefore introduced in the 

' Laws of Pa., Vol. I, pp. 24-5. * Linn, p. 196. 



40 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [420 

year 1682. Its phraseology runs as follows : " That the Days 
of the week, and Months of the year, shall be called as in 
Scripture, and not by heathen names (as are vulgarly used), 
as the First, Second, and Third days of the week ; and be- 
ginning with the day called Sunday, and the month called 
March> 1 

Religious freedom meant a great deal to the Quaker. He 
had only obtained ecclesiastical liberty after passing through 
severe persecution, but now that he possessed it, he determined 
that others should share this inestimable privilege with him. 
To the end that this sentiment might be incorporated into the 
organic law of the Colony, an act was passed in the year 1690, 
which declared that ^' no person, now, or at any time hereafter, 
Living in this Province, who shall confess and acknowledge 
one Almighty God to be the Creator, Upholder and Ruler of 
the world. And who professes, him, or herself Obliged in 
Conscience to Live peaceably and quietly under the civil Gov- 
ernment, shall in any case be molested or prejudiced for his, 
or her conscientious persuaiou or practice, nor shall hee or shee 
at any time be compelled to frequent or Maintain anie religious 
worship, place or Ministry whatsoever Contrary to his, or her 
mind, but shall freely and fully enjoy his, or her. Christian 
Liberty in that respect, without any Interruption or reflexion. 
And if any person shall abuse or deride any other, for his, or 
her, different persuasion and practice in matters of religion, 
such person shall be lookt upon as a Disturber of the peace, 
and be punished accordingly." ^ 

The liberality of the Quaker government comes out clearly 
also in an enactment that was passed in 1710. In that year, 
the Assembly gave its assent to a measure to the effect that 
" every one of whatever religious views he might be, who 
could not conscientiously make an Oath in the form and man- 
ner that w^as done in Britain, should have liberty to make his 
affirmation in the Quaker manner, that is to say, when any 

1 Great Law of Pa., Chap. XXXV. « Li^^^ p_ 192. 



421] Customs and Laws. 41 

one is by law called upon to assume any office or testify in 
any matter, that that shall not be demanded as in the presence 
of Almighty God, according to the teachings of the Holy 
Evangelists, and by kissing the Bible, but only by a ' yea,' or 
a little inclination of the head." It will be recalled that a 
clause in,Penn's charter required all laws passed -in the prov- 
ince to be submitted to the Privy Council of England for final 
approval. When, in obedience to this injunction, the enact- 
ment in question was transmitted it was promptly rejected by 
that transatlantic body. The measure, however, was not 
allowed to die. It was revived in 1714, and after much 
urging, after bringing considerable pressure to bear, ultimately 
received the approval of the Council three years later. 

The great bugbear with which the Quaker government had 
to contend was the granting of supplies for military purposes. 
" My being many years in the Assembly, a majority of which 
were constantly Quakers," says Franklin, " gave me frequent 
opportunity of seeing the embarrassment given them by their 
principles against war, whenever application was made to them, 
by order of the crown, to grant aids for military purposes. 
They were unwilling to offend the government on the one 
hand, by direct refusal ; and their friends, the body of the 
Quakers, on the other, by a compliance contrary to their prin- 
ciples ; using a variety of evasions to avoid complying, and 
modes of disguising the compliance, when it became unavoid- 
able. The common mode at last was, to grant money under 
the phrase of its being /or the King's use and never to inquire 
how it was applied." ' 

This and similar pretenses of obtaining supplies appear to 
have been thoroughly worked by the different governors. ^ 

' Worh, Vol. I, pp. 153-4. 

'^ May 16, 1693, Gov. Fletcher said to the Assembly, " If ther be anie 
amongst you that Scruple the giving of money to support warr, ther are a 
great manie other charges in that govermt, for the support yr of, as officers 
Sallaries & other Charges that amount to a Considerable sum ; your money 
shall be converted to these uses & shall not be dipt in blood." — Col. Eec. of 
Pa., I, 361. 



42 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [422 

During the incumbency of Markham, for instance, the As- 
sembly was requested to authorize the levy of a sum of money 
to be remitted to the Governor of New York for the support 
of war — or, as it was decently pretended, " for the relief of the 
distressed Indians." ^ The Assembly, on this presentation of 
the matter, voted £300 to be remitted to the neighboring 
province for the purpose therein specified. To keep up this 
pleasing and innocuous fiction. Governor Fletcher subse- 
quently wrote to Markham informing him that the money had 
been faithfully expended in " feeding and clothing " the 
Indians. Had he replied the grant had been faithfully ex- 
pended in purchasing bullets and other munitions of war, the 
letter would doubtless have approximated nearer the truth. 
But thus it was that the Quakers drew the line sharply 
between granting money for military purposes and for the 
support of the government. . In their opinion, they were not 
answerable for the application of the supplies when once they 
had been granted. The responsibility was transferred eo in- 
stanti from them to the Governor. 

In 1709 a concrete case occurred. Those were turbulent 
times, and the Governor of the Colony considered himself 
obliged to issue a requisition for troops and the necessary sup- 
plies. The story is told in his own words : " The Queen," 
writes Mr. Gookin, " having honored me with her commands 
that this Province should furnish out 150 men as its quota 
for the Expedition against Canada, I called on Assembly, and 
demanded £4000, they being all Quakers, after much delay, 
Resolved nemine contradicente that it was contrary to their 
religious principles to hire men to kill one another. I told 
some of them the Queen did not hire men to kidl one another, 
but to destroy her enemies. One of them answered the As- 
sembly understood English. After I had tried all ways to 
bring them to reason, they again resolved nemine contradicente 
that they could not directly or indirectly raise money for the 

1 Those of the Six Nations. 



423] Customs and Laws. 43 

Expedition to Cauada, but they had voted the Queen £500 as 
a Token of their respect, &c., and that the money should be 
put into a safe hand till they were satisfied from England it 
would not be employed to the use of war. I told them that 
the Queen did not want such a sum, but being a pious and 
good woman, perhaps she might give it to the clergy sent 
hither for the propagation of the Gospel. One of them an- 
swered that was worse than the other, on which arose a debate 
in the Assembly whether they should give the money or not, 
since it might be employed for the war or against their future 
Establishment, and after much wise debate it was carried in 
the affirmative by one voice only." ^ 

A repetition of the same trouble was experienced when an 
attack was made upon Carthagena. The northern Colonies 
were called upon to furnish soldiers for that service, and 
Pennsylvania was appealed to among the number. The As- 
sembly was composed almost exclusively of Friends, and the 
difficulty was how to obtain the necessary grant. The problem, 
however, was finally solved in a manner satisfactory to all. 
The Quakers discharged their duty by voting £4000 for the 
Khif/s use, which signified, of course, that they would furnish 
the money, and the Governor should raise the soldiers on his 
own responsibility. It thus appears that the Quakers just 
reversed the popular adage, " Millions for defense, but not 
one cent for tribute." Evidently, in the opinion of the Society, 
the reformed maxim should read, " Millions for tribute, but 
not a cent for defense." 

It is not very difficult to imagine that this granting of 
supplies occasionally brought the Friends into direct conflict 
with the Governors, who sometimes — and that frequently — 
represented a radically different line of thought from the one 
prevailing among the majority of the colonists. Governor 
Evans, in particular, had little respect for the Quaker notions, 
as he contemptuously styled them. He, for one, completely 

' Letter to the Secretary, dated Phila., Aug. 27, 1709. 



44 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [424 

ignored their conscientious convictions and pacific policy. It 
was this man who for the first time in the history of the 
Province made a call by public proclamation for militia for 
the defence of the Colony, Many of the other Governors, 
however, were not unlike him. Mr. Gookin, as can easily be 
conjectured from the foregoing citation, was neither a votary 
of Quaker principles, nor a courtier of their special favor. 
Consequently he was incessantly involved in disputes, and in 
all sorts of litigation with the Quaker element of the com- 
munity. 

This want of sympathy on the part of the Governors led 
many of the inhabitants to look favorably on the assumption 
of the government of the Colony by the Crown. After the 
decease of William Penn affairs grew steadily worse. The 
Friends became more and more jealous and suspicious of the 
new proprietors. Many of these Quakers had fallen away 
or openly abandoned the doctrines of the Society, and desired 
to regulate the government solely according to their own in- 
terests and ideas. This accounts for the fact that we find the 
Quakers in 1755 strongly in favor of abolishing the pro- 
prietary government and establishing a royal one in its stead. 
It was then the general opinion of the Friends that " the 
powers of the government ought, in all good policy, to be 
separated from the power attending that immense property 
and lodge where they could be properly and safely lodged, in 
the hands of the king," The Proprietaries, however, manipu- 
lated the affair in such a way that the opposition gradually 
subsided and as a result the government remained practically 
unchanged. 

The Pennsylvania colonists began to regard with uneasiness, 
not to say positive alarm, the ever increasing concourse of 
strangers differing from them in religion, as well as in other 
essential principles. This tide of immigration was considered 
portentous of evil. The Friends apprehended a preponderance 
of sentiments, other than their own, in the public councils, and 
finally, perhaps, an entire expulsion of all that tincture of 



425] Customs and Laws. 45 

Quaker principles which they had been to so much trouble to 
infuse into the provincial policy and administration. Although 
these apprehensions, when viewed in the calm light of the 
nineteenth century, appear to have been considerably exag- 
gerated, the record discloses the fact that such fears were not 
entirely without foundation. In the year 1729 no fewer than 
6208 European settlers found their way into the Province of 
Pennsylvania. Even the Assembly took fright at such an 
unprecedented influx of foreigners. An ordinance was there- 
fore hastily constructed entitled " An Act imposing a Duty on 
Persons convicted of heinous Crimes, & to prevent Poor and 
Impotent Persons from being imported into this Province." * 
By this statute a tax of five shillings per capita was imposed 
upon all new comers. It was not very long, however, before 
the provincial legislators became convinced of the impolicy of 
this measure. It was, therefore, soon repealed, and the Colony 
again extended a most cordial welcome to all who desired to 
find a home within its limits. 

It will doubtless be remembered that one clause in the 
Charter granted to William Penn provided for the establish- 
ment of the English Church in Pennsylvania, when desired 
by twenty or more of the inhabitants. This provision also 
occasioned the Quakers some slight annoyance. A great many 
churchmen had followed them across the Atlantic, and had 
settled in the Colony. These individuals were not, as the 
Quakers had been, fleeing from persecution, but were as a rule, 
energetic, younger sons of good families — men belonging to 
the middle classes of society, those who had determined to 
secure better fortunes in America than England offered them. 
These persons soon became a prosperous and influential ele- 
ment in the Province. The churchmen were not members of 
the Society, and although in the main law abiding, they did 
not entirely agree with the administration, and frequently 



1 Laws of Pa., I, 158. 



46 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [426 

expressed their opinions on the subject with a frankness that 
was nothing less than exasperating. 

For some years, however, everything was sufficiently har- 
monious. But in 1695, the Bishop of London sent the Rev. 
Mr. Clayton to Philadelphia, and then the real trouble seems 
to have commenced. A gentleman ^ writing to Governor 
Markham affirms that the Quakers denounced the aforesaid 
Mr. Clayton as " the minister of the doctrines of devils," to- 
gether with other language equally uncomplimentary, and 
that they behaved in various other scandalous ways. " His 
Majesty's Commission with the seal to it," our informant 
proceeds to say, they " held up in open court, in a ridiculous 
manner, shewing it to the people, and laughing at it, saying, 
' Here is a baby in a Tin box — we are not to be frightened 
with babes.' And others have said, ' The King has nothing 
more to do here than to receive a bear skin or two yearly ; 
and his, and the Parliament's laws reach no further than 
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick upon the Tweed ; ' 
and such like expressions which can all be proved by sufficient 
Witnesses." 

The churchmen in the Colony immediately presented a peti- 
tion to the Crown, protesting against such heroic treatment. 
" The Quaker magistrate no sooner heard of it," continues the 
account. of Mr. Suder, "but sent for me and the person that 
mentioned it, by a constable to their sessions. They told me 
they heard I with some others was petitioning his Majesty 
that we might have a minister of the Church of England for 
the exercise of our Religion and to make use of our arms as a 
Militia to defend our estates from enemies. Edward Shippen, 
one of the Quaker justices, turning to the others of his fellows 
say'd, ' Now they have discovered themselves. They are bring- 
ing the priest and the sword among us, but God forbid ; we 
will prevent them,' and ordered the King's Attorney, a Quaker, 
to read a law that they had made against any person that shall 

lA Mr. Suder, Nov. 20, 1698. 



427] Customs and Laws. 47 

write or speak against their Governmeut. I told them I hoped 
they would not hinder us of the right of petitioning " — and 
so the letter continues. Of course, due allowance should be 
made for the fact that this epistle was the composition of a 
churchman, one who would very naturally magnify any defect 
that existed in the Quaker Government. In all this, however, 
one thing is sufficiently apparent, to wit, that Pennsylvania 
was a state intended first of all for the Quakers. Its estab- 
lishment had been for the primary purpose of affording this 
sect a haven of refuge. The Society, therefore, determined to 
retain the power of government in its own hands. In their 
fears, the Friends had no doubt greatly exaggerated the im- 
pending danger. They imagined that the Province was rapidly 
being populated by churchmen, and that if once the English 
church were to obtain the supremacy, they would be compelled 
to seek other homes or suffer another season of persecution. 
But after the excitement had somewhat subsided, the Quakers, 
whom, despite reports, history informs the reader never made 
any decided opposition to the new foundation, readily with- 
drew all their protests, and accordingly a branch of the Epis- 
copal vine was planted in Pennsylvania. 

Civil government, owing to their religious principles, was, 
however, always very embarrassing to the Friends. It became 
more and more so, as the population became more heterogeneous. 
Great difficulty was experienced in providing for the public 
defense of the Colony, and it became every day more apparent 
that the time was rapidly approaching when they would be 
compelled to lay down the government, consigning it to hands 
whose owners did not share such scruples. 

The Quakers now perceived the impossibility of reconciling 
the preservation of their sectarian principles with the adminis- 
tration of the political power in the Colonj^ which their ances- 
tors had planted. But although they clearly recognized the 
inevitable, to which they saw they must eventually bow in 
submission, they were none the less reluctant to resign their 
power of control. History cannot censure them on this 



48 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [428 

account. It had been principally with the hope of cultivating 
their tenets, and of exhibiting them to the world in a high 
degree of perfection that the Friends had originally incurred 
the lot of exiles from their native shores and been induced to 
undertake the care of government. In spite of this disincli- 
nation, however, the time had now arrived when some decision 
must be rendered. No longer was there any opportunity of 
halting between conflicting opinions. One of two things must 
be done. They must either renounce their political capacity, 
or they must consent to merge the Quaker into the politician. 
Which would be done ? " With a rare virtue," avers Mr. 
Grahame, " they adhered to their religious principles and 
resigned the political authority which they had enjoyed since 
the foundation of the colony." ^ 

Historical writers invariably find it an unsatisfactory process 
to endeavor to compress any great event within the narrow 
boundaries of chronological limits ; especially is this true of a 
government like the one under consideration. It is, there- 
fore, difficult to state exactly when this change occurred in 
Pennsylvania. Even the opinions of authorities differ as to 
what precise date is to be assigned to the crisis. Stille alleges 
that the Quaker supremacy terminated in the year 1754.^ Mr. 
Grahame goes a little further, assigning 1 756 as the time. While 
McKean gives the date of the American Revolution as contem- 
porary with the actual extinction of Quaker political power. 

At all events, it would certainly be erroneous to suppose 
that this " rotation in office," so to speak, was effected sud- 
denly, all at once — in a day, as the ancients were accustomed 
to found their cities. On the contrary, it was doubtless a very 

1 Col Hist, of U. S., II, 255. 

*But it probably extended beyond this limit, for February 26, 1756, an 
argument was made before the Lords of Trade to forever disqualify Quakers 
from sitting as members of the Assembly. The petitioners declared that 
the pacific principles of the Friends conclusively demonstrated " the neces- 
sity of which we desire, namely, that they should be excluded from the 
Assembly. . . . These are the People, who impiously trust that the Lord 
will raise Walls & Bulwarks, round them, without their using any, the ordi- 
nary means, which he has put in their Power, for their own Preservation." 



429] Customs and Laws. 49 

gradual process. A number of Quakers quietly seceded from 
the Assembly, declining to accept the offices of government 
under a political regime by which a military establishment 
was sanctioned, and indeed, even required. Their example 
was followed by other members of the Society, till, at first 
their majority was extinguished, and ultimatel}r few, if any, 
Quakers remained in the Legislature. 

Thus expired the political government of the Friends for 
and by the Friends. It had begun nearly a century before 
with exalted ideals. " In the whole," wrote the illustrious 
William Penn, " we aim at duty to the King, the preserva- 
tion of rights to all, the suppression of vice and encourage- 
ment of virtue and arts, with liberty to all people to worship 
Almighty God according to their faith and persuasion." That 
it had accomplished all it proposed to do few denied, and in 
praise of it many have recorded their names. Dr. Franklin, 
for example, draws a very pleasing picture of the political 
household of Pennsylvania, when he likens it to "a father 
and his Family, the latter united by Interest and Affection, 
the former to be revered for the Wisdom of his Instruction 
and the indulgent Use of his Authority." "Nobody,' he 
adds, " was oppress'd ; Industry was sure of Profit, Knowl- 
edge of Esteem, and Virtue of Veneration." ^ 

All impartial investigators will agree with the authority 
just cited that Quakerism always inscribed on its banner the 
device, " A free religion and a free commonwealth." Con- 
sequently the historian Lodge, who pays such a glowing, but 
deserved, tribute to this regime, simply expresses the verdict 
of history when he declares that "The oppression of New 
England and Virginia, of Congregationalist and Episco- 
palian, was unknown " in Pennsylvania, and that here " tol- 
eration did not rest on the narrow foundation of expediency 
to which it owed its early adoption in Maryland." ^ 



^ Hist. Bev. of the Const, of Pa., p. 3. 
' Short Hist, of Eng, Col. in Anier., p. 233. 
4 



III. 

Attitude of Quakees towards Indians. 

The Indian policy of William Penn was a radical departure 
from the approved methods of his day and generation. As 
early as 1681, we discover the Proprietor of the future prov- 
ince directing his attention to the American natives. On the 
tenth day of October of that year, Penn appointed three 
Commissioners whose duty it was to supervise the settlement 
of the proposed colony. The instructions to these gentlemen 
were couched in the following language : " Be tender of 
offending the Indians, and hearken, by honest spies, if you 
can hear that anybody inveigles the Indians not to sell, or to 
stand off and raise the value upon you. . . . Let them know 
that you are come to sit down lovingly among them. Let my 
letter, and conditions with my purchasers about just dealing 
with them, be read in their tongue, that they may see we have 
their good in our eye, equal with our own interest, and after 
reading my letter and the said conditions, then present their 
kings with what I send them, and make a friendship and 
league with them, according to these conditions, which care- 
fully observe, and get them to comply with you." ^ 

The letter which accompanied these directions has become 
a famous document. In it Penn writes " there is one great 
God and power that hath made the world and all things 
therein, to whom you and I, and all people owe their being 
and well-being, and to whom you and I must one day give an 



Hazard, Annak, 529. 

50 



431] Attitude of Quakei's towards Indians. 51 

account for all that we do in the world ; this great God hath 
written His law in our hearts, by which we are taught and 
commanded to love and help, and do good to one another, and 
not to do harm and mischief one to another. Now this great 
God hath been pleased to make me concerned in your part of 
the world, and the king of the country where I live hath 
given unto me a great province, but I desire to enjoy it with 
your love and consent, that we may always live together as 
neighbors and friends." The author knows, so he proceeds to 
say, that the Indians have been greatly maltreated by some of 
the earlier European settlers, but assures them that he is " not 
such a man, as is well known " in his own country. Indeed, 
so far from entertaining such sentiments, the letter continues, I 
have " great love and regard towards you, and I desire to win 
and gain your love and friendship by a kind, just, and peace- 
able life, and the people I send are of the same mind, and 
shall in all things behave themselves accordingly ; and if in 
anything any shall offend you or your people, you shall have 
a full and speedy satisfaction for the same, by an equal number 
of just men on both sides, that by no means you may have 
just occasion of being offended against them." The communi- 
cation closes with the observation, " I shall shortly come to you 
myself, at what time we may more largely and freely confer 
and discourse of these matters." 

This promise foreshadowed the treaty,^ which, when Penn 
did arrive, was concluded under the famous Elm — the tree that 
has acquired such prominence in the history of the Province. 
And well it might, for one of the fairest and most unsullied 
chapters, perhaps, in the entire colonial history of America is 
that which de^rcribes this meeting with the aboriginal inhabi- 
tants. Here, translating into life their large and catholic 
theology, the Quakers met unarmed those same Indians, whom 
all the other European settlers agreed in regarding as fierce and 



'This treaty has received the name of Elm Tree Treaty, because the 
meeting occurred in a grove of these trees. 



52 Quakers m Pennsylvania. [432 

blood-thirsty savages ; and, addressing them as the children 
of a Common Father, one over-all-ruling God, concluded with 
them the memorable compact. 

Other places have possessed their historic and consecrated 
trees, but none of them was ever more justly renowned than 
the Elm of Pennsylvania. It was a stately witness to the 
solemn covenant, which, in the language of Voltaire, was " the 
only league between those nations and the Christians that was 
never sworn to, and never broken." Here Penu explained to 
these rude children of the forest that he had not come to injure 
or to defraud them of their natural rights ; that, on the con- 
trary, his purpose was to ameliorate their condition ; and, that 
for the accomplishment of this desired object, the interests of 
the races were to be considered inseparable — in fact, identical. 
" We meet," such was the language employed, " on the broad 
pathway of good faith and good will ; no advantage shall be 
taken on either side, but all shall be openness and love." 
Further, he " would not do as the Marylanders did ; that is, 
call them children or brothers only ; for often parents were 
apt to whip their children too severely ; and brothers sometimes 
would differ." Neither would he compare the friendship be- 
tween them to a " chain, for the rain might sometime rust it, 
or a tree might fall and break it ; " but he would " consider 
them as the same flesh and blood with the Christians ; the 
same as if one man's body were to be divided into two parts." 
So terminates a declaration whose influence was clearly per- 
ceptible throughout the entire colonial period. The hearts of 
the congregated chiefs of the Algonquin race were immediately 
captured by the simplicity and evident sincerity of Penn's man- 
ner, as well as by the language of fraternal affection in which 
he had addressed them. On their part, therefore, they pledged 
themselves, in the glowing imagery of nature, to live with the 
children of Onas' " as long as the sun and moon shall endure." 



^ " Which signifies a Pen in the language of the Five Nations, by which 
name they call the Governors of Pennsylvania since it was first settled by 
William Penn." Col. Bee. of Pa., II, 210. 



433] Attitude of Quakers towards Indians. 53 

Recognizing the abuses tliat had been committed by his 
predecessors, Penn declared that no person in his Colony would 
be permitted to defraud or otherwise injure the Indians, or 
even to avenge any wrong, real or imaginary, he might receive 
at their hands. Instead of killing the natives in case of alter- 
cation or, an injury inflicted, Penn prescribed that if "any 
Indian should abuse a planter, the said planter should not be 
his own judge upon the Indian, but apply to the next magis- 
trate, who should make complaint thereof to the king of the 
Indians, for reasonable satisfaction for the injury." ^ It was 
provided, moreover, that the adjustment of all disputes between 
the two races should in every instance be referred to twelve 
arbiters selected equally from the Europeans and the Indians. 
It was also declared that " the Indians shall have liberty to 
do all things relating to improvement of their ground, and 
providing sustenance for their families, that any of the planters 
shall enjoy." At the same time it was announced " that no 
man shall by any ways or means, in word or deed, affront or 
wrong any Indian, but he shall incur the same penalty of the 
law as if he had committed against his fellow planters." This 
language was repeated almost verbatim, April 23, 1701. Then 
it was agreed that the natives should " have the full and free 
privilege and immunities of all the said laws as any other 
Inhabitant." ^ 

In the year 1728, the Governor informed the aborigines, 
" if any Christian do Injury to an Indian, you must as Breth- 
ren, come and complain of it ; but if it be remote in the Woods, 
you must apprehend the Man that did the Wrong, and deliver 
him to me, that the Offender may be punished for it according 
to our Laws, which will suffer no man to hurt another." ^ 

The historian Herodotus relates of a certain Scythian tribe 
that " no man does any injury to this people, for they are 
accounted sacred ; nor do they possess any warlike weapons." * 



Instructions to Colonists. * Col. Rec, II, 10. 

' Ihid., Ill, 356. * Bk. IV, chap. 23. 



54 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [434 

Notwithstanding the fact that these words were written many 
ages anterior to the period now under consideration, no phraseo- 
logy could be found that better describes the relation existing 
between the Quakers and the Indians. Carnage held high 
court in many colonies. Indeed, even in some sections of Penn- 
sylvania, devastation was rampant ; but, in spite of this terror 
that stalked at noonday, the Friends, throughout their entire 
history, disclaimed the employment of all weapons, as well for 
the defence of their lives and property as for the redress of 
their wrongs. Their trust for the safety of their persons and 
possessions against human ferocity and cupidity was not in 
arms, but in the dominion of the Almighty over the hearts of 
His creatures ; for, in the beautiful language of Inspiration, 
they firmly believed that "under His shadow" they might 
live even " among the heathen." ' 

Of this child-like faith and simplicity we possess a very strik- 
ing instance. A family of Pennsylvania Quakers, although 
residing on the frontiers of the settlement, were accustomed to 
retire at night without even pulling in the latch-string of 
their dwelling, relying solely on God's providence to protect 
them. One evening, however, after the Indians had committed 
several atrocities in the immediate neighborhood, the good man 
of the house, before going to rest for the night, took the pre- 
caution to draw in the string. But the circumstance troubled 
his mind. Finally he arose from his bed, replaced the latch- 
string in its usual position, and as the sequal will show, this 
simple action proved the salvation of the entire family. Shortly 
afterwards the Indians surrounded the dwelling, tried the 
door, found the string out, and after a consultation of a few 
moments, retired, leaving the peaceable Friends unmolested. 
Subsequently, when peace was restored, the same Quaker 
happened to be in company with several natives, and related 
his experience. One of the Indians declared that the sim- 
ple circumstance of putting out the latch-string, which proved 

^ Lamentations, iv, 20. 



435] Attitude of Quakers towards Indians. 55 

confidence rather than fear, had caused life as well as property 
to be spared. The speaker acknowledged that he himself had 
been one of that same marauding party, and that, on finding 
the door of the house unfastened, they had said, "these people 
shall live ; they will do us no harm, for they put their trust 
in the Great Spirit." ' 

Whatever animosity the Indians might conceive against the 
European neighbors of the Pennsylvanians, or even against 
the colonists themselves, who were not included in the fold of 
the Society, they never failed to discriminate in favor of the 
followers of Penn. During all the time of border war when 
rumors of hostilities filled so many pages of colonial history, 
the natives, though in many cases urged on by unprincipled 
white men to commit deeds of violence, never molested the 
Friends — the people of Father Onas as they fondly styled 
them. Secretary Logan could then with truthfulness tell the 
Indians " You on your part have been faithful and true to us, 
whatever Reports might be spread, yet the Chain was still 
preserved strong and bright. You never violated it. We have 
lived in perfect Peace and Unity above any other Govern- 
ment in America." ^ 

The condition of affairs herein described is really a remarka- 
ble phenomenon in the colonial life of America, but the reason for 
it is hidden only a little way beneath the surface. The Quaker 
principles and practices, their brotherly love, their rejection of 
weapons — all this made from the very beginning an impres- 
sion, strong and enduring, upon the savage mind, and it is 
mainly to the circumstances enumerated that this notable ex- 
emption is to be attributed. The Quakers " in the midst of a 
fierce and lawless race of men," writes the annalist Burke, 
" have preserved themselves, with unarmed hands and passive 
principles, by the rules of moderation and justice better than 
any other people by policy and arms." ^ " No feature," con- 



^ Harper^ s Mag., I, 596. 

' Col. Rec. of Pa., Ill, 8S. ^ Europ. Set. in America, 1 1, 227 



56 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [436 

firms Mr. Grahame, " in the manners of the Quakers con- 
tributed more efficiently to guard them against Indian ferocity 
than their rigid abstinence not merely from the use, but even 
from the possession, of offensive weapons, enforced by their 
conviction of the sufficiency of divine aid, and their respect 
to the Scriptural threat, that all who take* the sword shall 
perish by it." ^ 

Throughout the whole period of Indian wars there were, 
as far as the writer's knowledge extends, only two cases where 
Friends were massacred by the savages, and these resulted 
from misunderstandiugs. The first was that of a young man, 
a tanner by trade, who went to and from his tannery daily 
without being molested while devastation spread in every 
direction. On one occasion, however, he carried a gun to shoot 
some birds. He was seen by the Indians. They imagined 
the weapon was carried for protection against them, and with- 
out further ado he was murdered. The other instance was the 
case of a woman, who remained in her dwelling unharmed, 
although her neighbors were cruelly massacred. The ravages 
of the Indians were, however, so frightful, that she finally 
became alarmed, and fled to the adjoining fort to ensure her 
personal safety. The savages supposed she had abandoned her 
pacific principles. They inferred from her conduct that she 
had allied herself with the fighting portion of the community, 
and her life paid the forfeit. But with the exception of these 
instances the records remain untarnished. Indeed, so free are 
they from such blemishes that Mr. Grahame possesses ample 
authority when, by way of recapitulation, he declares that 
"the intentional injury of a Quaker by an Indian" was "an 
event almost, if not altogether, unknown in Pennsylvania, and 
very rare in all American history." - 

In the annals of Pennsylvania, then, one does not encounter 
pages which are blotted and seared by inhuman conduct 
towards the Indians, nor by exhibitions of deadly animosity 

1 Col Hist, of U. S., I, 515-16. « Col. History of U. S., I, 515. 



437] Attitude of Quakers toivards Indians. 57 

on the part of the aborigines towards the Friends. Penn, in 
his letter, had given every assurance that no advantage would 
be taken of them ; that all the transactions between the two 
races were to be characterized by equity and brotherly love. 
These statements were not intended merely to deceive. Almost 
immediately upon the arrival of the Proprietor abundant veri- 
fication Avas afforded of the promises made to the red men ; 
and one of Penn's first acts was to obtain the natives' consent 
to the occupation of their country. To be sure the Province 
had been granted by the King in absolute right, and the title 
to the territory thus conferred was such as was considered valid 
by all nations, but when Penn determined to add the additional 
right of purchase from the original owners, he made a very 
favorable impression on the sachems. The chronicler Chalmers 
alleges that before Penn's departure from England, several 
conversations relative to this subject were held with the Bishop 
of London, and that the former was notably influenced by the 
opinion of his ecclesiastical friend, who advised him to pursue 
this meritorious policy. Investigation fails to discover any 
authority in substantiation of this statement, but whether the 
assertion be veracious or otherwise is not material for our 
present purpose. Suffice it to say that, no matter whence the 
idea originated, Penn carried it into successful operation, and 
that the result went far to constitute the most honorable feature 
in the colonial history of America. It is the same Chalmers 
who declares that this conduct, " equally humane and wise, 
not only long ensured an advantageous peace to the province, but 
has conferred undiminished celebrity on his name ; " * and the 
historian Burke, when speaking on the same subject, states 
that by this " act of justice at the beginning, he made his deal- 
ings for the future the more easy, by prepossessing tiie Indians 
with a favorable opinion of him and his designs."^ 

But Penn did not stop here. Creditable as this conduct 
may have been, it was by no means unique, for it was only 

^Annals, p. 644. ^ Europ. Set. in America, II, 227. 



58 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [438 

one instance, among many, of the illustrious deeds of this 
Quaker Patriarch. The matter of trade with the natives 
furnishes another example ; and, in this respect, his conduct 
was marked by as great, if not greater, scrupulousness. In 
1681, although in considerable pecuniary need, he unhesitat- 
ingly refused an oifer of £6000, together with a handsome 
annual revenue, for a monopoly of the Indian traffic, because, 
as Penn wrote to a friend, " I could not so defile what comes 
to me clean." In the same year it was officially declared, 
" Forasmuch as it is usual with the planters to overreach the 
poor natives of the country in Trade by Goods not being good 
of the kind, or debased with mixtures, with which they are 
sensibly aggrieved, it is agreed, whatever is sold to the Indians, 
in consideration of their furs, shall be sold in the market 
place, and there suffer the test, whether good or bad ; if good 
to pass ; if not good, not to be sold for good, that the natives 
may not be abused nor provoked." 

Twelve years later, that is in 1693, on complaint being 
made to the effect that traveling traders " who by reason of 
their Non-Residence as aforesaid and frequent Removal from 
one province to another, are not careful in maintaining a fair 
Correspondence with the sd. Indians, and often oppress and 
abuse them in their way of trading and dealing with them, 
which may provoke and stir up the sd. Indians to a Revenge 
of the said abuses," it was enacted, "that no person non- 
Resident, either on Shoar or on board any vessel (except such 
as Come here with their families with an Intent to settle) deal 
or trade with any Indians within this government, upon any 
pretence whatsoever, upon the forfeiture of five pounds for 
every such offence and the goods so purchased, one half to go 
to the use of the County and the other to the discoverer." 
It was provided further that " no Inhabitant within this 
Province and Territories from henceforth under the penalty 
aforesaid, shall presume to trade with the Indians in the 
woods, at their towns or wigwams, after any private or clan- 
destine manner, but at their respective mansion houses, which 



439] Attitude of Quakers towards Indians. 59 

sd. dwelling houses shall be adjudged so to be by the respective 
Court in each county, any law, custom or usage to the contrary 
notwithstanding;." ^ 

At many meetings of the Governor and his Council, Indian 
matters were discussed, and measures were early taken to sup- 
press, or, if this were impossible, at least to regulate, the sale 
of intoxicating liquors to the natives. Such commerce had 
already become a prolific source of anxiety as well as annoy- 
auce to the Friends ; and, if it were allowed to continue, they 
clearly perceived tliat the prospect for the future would not 
be the most attractive possible. Despite all efforts to the 
contrary, however, spirituous drinks still found their way 
among the tribes. In 1701, to suppress this fountain-head of 
crime, a law was framed declaring "that no Rum shall be 
Sold to any but their Chiefs, and in such Quantities as the 
Govr and Council shall think fitt, to be Disposed of by the 
Said Chiefs to the Indians about them as they shall see cause." ^ 
By such means the traffic was diminished, but not abolished. 
Other expedients must be tried. June 22, 1715, therefore, it 
was ordered on the authority of " the Govr and Council, that 
all Indians who shall at any time see any rum brought 
amongst them for sale, either by English or others, Do forth- 
with stave y^ Casks and destroy the Liquor, without suffering 
any of it to be sold or Drank, in wch Practice they shall be 
Indemnified and protected by y* Govmt against all persons 
whatsoever." ^ But this was expecting too much of crude 
humanity and the measure remained a nullity. The Indians 
were entirely too fond of " fire water " to pursue any such 
course as the one proposed. In order, therefore, the better to 
accomplish the desired result, a lengthy bill was passed in the 
year 1722 entitled "xln Act to prohibit the selling Rum, and 
other strong Liquors, to the Indians, and to prevent the abuses 
that may happen thereby." The phraseology of many sec- 



'Linn, Charier and Laws of Pa., pp. 240-1. 

* Col. Bee. of Pa., II, 16. =» Ibid., II, 633. 



60 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [440 

tions of this statute is extremely curious. For instance, the 
enactment declared that nothing therein contained should " be 
deemed or taken to prevent any Inhabitant of this Province 
from giving unto any Indian, at his Dwelling house, or Habi- 
tation, any Quantity of Kum, or other spirits, not exceeding 
One Sixteenth Part of a Quart at one Time, and that not 
oftener than once in Twelve Hours." ^ Even at this early 
date some of the Quakers appear to have classified alcohol 
with other medicinal remedies, and would have administered 
it accordingly in homoeopathic doses. But, unfortunately, the 
natives entertained quite the contrary opinion concerning its 
uses. 

In all his transactions with the Indians, Penn never aban- 
doned the policy he had outlined in his treaty and his officers 
were always strictly enjoined to treat their heathen neighbors 
as they themselves had been treated by their Governor. There 
was seldom any difference noticeable between their actions 
towards their fellows and the savages, whom they regarded as 
their wards. To be convinced of this fact one does not have 
to turn many leaves of the records. Examples almost every- 
where appear. 

The following incident will suffice for the purposes of con- 
crete illustration : In the year 1721, two traders became 
involved in a dispute with a party of Indians. Blows quickly 
followed angry words, and finally, in the heat of the alterca- 
tion, one of the Indians was killed. Notwithstanding the fact 
that this act of violence was committed far away from the 
abodes of civilization — in an almost impenetrable forest — the 
Governor of Pennsylvania sent out officers to apprehend the 
transgressors, and the record affirms that they " were brought 
to Philadelphia, committed to prison and put in Irons, and 
there remain to be tried for their Lives according to our 
Laws, in the same manner as if they had killed an English- 
man." ^ When, however, the Indians discovered that the 

1 Laws of Pa., 117-18. ^ (j^i ji^^. of Pa., Ill, 205. 



441] Attitude of Quakers towards Indians. 61 

aifair "happened by misfortune," they considered "it hard 
the persons who killed our friend and Brother should suffer," 
and at their earnest solicitation that " the men who did it may 
be released from Prison and set at Liberty," the traders were 
pardoned.^ As already remarked, however, there is nothing 
exceptional about this case. It should always be remembered 
that during the time of Quaker supremacy, individuals were 
punished in precisely the same manner for the injuries inflicted 
on Indians as for similar offences committed against Europeans. 
Throughout their entire history, the Quakers were careful 
not to offend the natives in any respect. In the early part of 
the last century it was customary for vessels to fire salutes, 
thereby indicating their arrival or departure ; to welcome 
their friends on board ; or for similar reasons, and this was 
done several times in the harbor of Philadelphia. The 
Indians, however, " believing y^ firing of sd. guns to have 
been signs of Hostilitie intended ag* y"," were very much 
frightened by such warlike demonstrations. It was, therefore, 
promptly ordered that the practice of discharging cannons in 
the city or harbor be discontinued. To retain the good 
opinion of the natives, the Governor hastened to explain to 
their representatives " that itt was the Custom of y^ English 
to tire guns as a sign of joy & kind entertainment of y"" friends 
coming on board ; & was in no manner of ways intended to 
frighten or disoblige y"" ; as also informed y" y' they were & 
should be verie wellcome to this gov'^m', and in token of am- 
itie & friendship wt y", y* Gov"" gave y™ a Belt of AVampum, 
by y™ to be showen to the other Seneca Indians y' went away 
upon fireing y^ said guns." ^ In the year 1712, also, when a 
delegation of natives complained that their corn had been 
greatly damaged by the traders carelessly allowing their cattle 
to get into it, the offenders were compelled to furnish a satis- 
factory indemnity to the injured parties.^ 



'Ibid., Ill, 211. 

2 Col. Rec. oj Pa., I, 557. ^ j^j-^/,^ jj^ 519-20. 



62 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [442 

As time wore away, representatives of other denominations 
began to settle in the colony ; but, as they rejected the peacea- 
ble ways of their neighbors, they naturally enjoyed no exemp- 
tion from Indian warfare. They had sown the wind and they 
soon found that the whirlwind must be reaped. In spite of 
all admonitions to the contrary, they took the sword and as a 
result many of them perished by it. When it was too late, 
they perceived that by themselves they were no match for the 
superior numbers of the Indians. Attempts, therefore, were 
made to induce the Quakers to waive their religious scruples, 
and to take up arms for the defense of the Province. As 
might be expected, however, such efforts were utterly futile. 

About the year 1705, Governor Evans determined to test 
the sincerity of the Friends in this matter, and he did it in 
rather a discreditable manner, a way that reflected as little honor 
on him as on his coadjutors. To accomplish his purpose, how- 
ever, this officer caused reports to be widely circulated to the 
effect that the Indians were devastating the surrounding 
country, and that an immediate attack on the City of Phila- 
delphia was to be apprehended. So far as the Quakers were 
concerned the experiment was entirely useless in securing the 
result which the Governor most desired. In this, their hour 
of trial, they remained steadfast. The time selected was the 
day on which they were accustomed to hold their regular 
weekly meeting, and, regardless of the tumult and consterna- 
tion that pervaded the settlement, the majority of the Friends 
quietly assembled as usual to perform their appointed devo- 
tions. Of course, in any large body of persons, complete 
unanimity of action is not to be expected. Some individuals 
were disconcerted owing to the unexpectedness of the affair 
and the vivid descriptions of the terrible cruelties being 
perpetrated in the neighborhood. " The suddenness of the 
surprise," such are the words of the historian Proud, " with 
the noise of precipitation, consequent thereon, threw many of 
the people into very great fright and consternation, inasmuch 
that it is said, some threw their plate and most valuable efi'ects 



443] Attitude of Quakers toivards Indians. 63 

clown their wells and little-houses ; that others hid themselves, 
in the best manner they could, while many retired further up 
the river, with what they could most readily carry off." ' 
With a thrill of pardonable pride, however, our author adds 
that only four Quakers were induced to arm themselves to 
repel the -expected attack. 

Through evil as well as through good report, the Friends 
continued firm in their pacific principles in general, and con- 
cerning their attitude towards the Indians they were literally 
immovable. As would be naturally supposed their conduct in 
this respect occasioned a great deal of trouble from the opposi- 
tion ; but, no matter how severe and dogged this persecution 
might be, the members of the Society persisted in allegiance 
to their religious convictions. After Braddock's memorable 
defeat, there was great commotion in Pennsylvania owing to 
apprehensions of the hostility of the enraged natives. With 
the exception of the adherents of the Society, the community 
united in advocating defensive measures. Those individuals 
residing on the frontier were incessantly inundating the As- 
sembly with petitions for assistance. When it was ascertained, 
however, that all such attempts were perfectly idle, they re- 
sorted to intimidation, and threatened to come down in great 
crowds and cut the obdurate Governor and his advisers limb 
from limb, if steps were not taken, and that speedily, for what 
they considered the proper defense of the community. But 
these barbarous menaces were just as ineffectual as their former 
efforts, and when it was so discovered, a new device, novel in 
character, was adopted. In order to move the Quakers from 
their detested pacific policy, it was determined, as a last re- 
source, to convey to Philadelphia the bodies of a whole family 
that had been recently massacred by the Indians. The record 
states that the remains really did arrive in the city like " frozen 
venison," for it was midwinter. They were paraded through 
the town and finally deposited in front of the Legislative Hall, 

^Hist. of Pa., Vol. I, pp. 469-70. 



64 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [444 

where the law-makers could see for themselves the fiendish 
work of the savages. John Churchman, an eye witness of this 
spectacle, reports that the bodies " were carried along the 
streets — many people following, cursing the Indians, and also 
the Quakers, because they would not join in war for their 
destruction." These were indeed trying times for Friends. 
Experimental knowledge had, however, thoroughly convinced 
them that confidence in the Supreme Ruler of events was far 
better protection than a resort to arms. After thoughtful con- 
sideration, therefore, the only reply the Society vouchsafed to 
these menaces and hostile demonstrations was made in the 
language of the Scripture — " Fear not them that kill the 
body." 

In the very teeth of fierce opposition, the Friends maintained 
their peaceable relations with the natives — relations which, 
from the very beginning, had assumed a very practical form. 
Mutual assistance appears to have been the dominant idea. 
Richard Townsend, the personal friend of William Penn, 
records the fact that " as our worthy proprietor treated the 
Indians with extraordinary humanity they became very civil 
and loving to us, and brought in abundance of venison." Penn 
on his part, says Mr. Bancroft, " often met the Indians in 
council, and at their festivals. He visited them in their cabins, 
shared the hospitable banquet of hominy and roasted acorns, 
and laughed, and frolicked, and practiced athletic games with 
the light-hearted, mirthful, confiding red men." ^ 

This friendship between the two races was so strong that 
Indians frequently came to visit socially, and even to live 
among the Quakers. Under such conditions, the influence 
exerted on them was very salutary, for here they acquired 
useful ideas regarding civilization which in time inured to 
the great profit of their people. The Indians were not slow 
either in recognizing the superior qualities of the Europeans 
and to argue from the kind treatment received that the 

1 Hist, of U. S., II, 384. 



445] Attitude of Quakers towards Indians. 65 

Quakers were in reality their best councilors. In conversation, 
therefore, Philadelphia was frequently referred to as " their 
head ; " thus symbolizing, under natural imagery, that the City 
of Brotherly Love was even greater than their chief, that to a 
great extent it directed and controlled their actions. On more 
than one, occasion did the natives publicly declare that they 
gave no credence to damaging reports against the Friends, for 
they claimed complete identity with the people of Father Onas. 
If proof of this statement be required, it is found in a speech 
delivered by an Indian chief in the year 1715. He says, 
'' that hearing of some murmurs among some of themselves, to 
prevent any misunderstanding, they now came to renew the 
former bond of friendship. That William Penn had, at his 
first coming, made a clear & open Road all the way to the 
Indians (by this meaning a friendly communication), that they 
desired the same might be kept open, and that all obstructions 
should be removed, of w''*' on their sides they will take care." 
In conclusion the speaker assured his audience that he earn- 
estly desired "■ the Indians should be half English & the 
English make themselves as half Indians," so that "they 
should be joyn'd as one." ^ 

Numerous indeed were the Indians who bore testimony to 
the fact that they never received any other than good counsel 
from the Quakers, advice of such a character that it was always 
to their advantage to follow it implicitly. At an Indian 
council convened in the year 1720, the members almost unani- 
mously declared they would always remember the words of 
their great and good brother, William Penn. They stated that 
since their chiefs had come in contact with the Quakers they had 
lived in almost uninterrupted tranquillity. " When the sun 
sets" — such was their language — "we sleep in peace; in peace 
we rise with him, and so continue while he continues in his 
course, and think ourselves happy in their friendship, which we 
shall take care to have continued from generation to generation." 



> Col. Bee. of Pa., Vol. II, pp. 628-29. 

5 



66 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [446 

On another occasion, the Indians also assured the Governor 
that their relations with the Friends were a source of real 
satisfaction to them. They said : " We are happy to live in 
a Country at Peace, and not as in those Parts, where we for- 
merly Liv'd ; for then upon our Return from hunting. We 
found our Town surprized and our Women and children taken 
prisoners by our Enemies." ^ They perceived that " he that 
withholds his hand from war is wise ; " aud the Quakers, on 
their part, neglected few opportunities of farther impressing 
the unquestionable advantages of peace on the plastic minds of 
their red brethren. In the year 1719, for instance, the Friends 
expressed their hopes that the natives were "all fully conviuced 
that Peace is better than War, which destroys you and will 
bring you nothing; your strong young People being first 
killed, the old Women and Children are left defenseless, who 
soon will become a Prey. And so all the nation perishes 
without leaving a name to Posterity." Moreover, logically 
argued the Quakers, this advice of itself was an unmistakable 
indication that we are your true friends, for if we were not 
then we " should encourage you to Destroy one another. For 
Friends save People from Ruin and Destruction, but Enemies 
destroy them." ^ 

From this resume it will be sufficiently evident that the 
actions of the Quakers relative to the Indians were invariably 
characterized by equity. In the light of facts, the verdict of 
the impartial historian must ever coincide with that expressed 
by the Friends themselves when they alleged, we have done 
better " than if, with the proud Spanards, we had gained the 
mines of Potosi. We may make the ambitious heroes, whom 
the world admires, blush for their shameful victories. To the 
poor, dark souls round about us we teach their rights as men." ^ 



» Col. Bee. of Pa., 1 1, 403. ^ jj^-^^^ m^ 7 1, 

^Planter's Speech, 1684. Quoted by Bancroft, II, 383. 



ly. 

Attitude of Quakers towards Slavery. 

Originally, the actions of the Society with respect to the 
purchase and retention of slaves, differed but little from the 
ways of colonists of other religious persuasions. The reasons 
are obvious. The early Pennsylvanians possessed large allot- 
ments of land without a sufficient number of laborers for 
proper cultivation ; they had large families without an adequate 
number of servants for the necessary domestic employment. 
It was only natural therefore that the Friends directed their 
attention to the negro as a means of supplying the existing 
deficiency. As Mr. Grahame observes, " it required more 
virtue than even the Quakers were yet prepared to exert, in 
order to defend them from the contagion of this evil." ^ 

During Penn's first visit to the Colony, a few blacks were 
imported into Pennsylvania. Subsequently Africans were 
literally poured into the Province to obviate the difficulties 
resulting from the scarcity of labor, and they were bought 
promiscuously by all — indifferently, by the Quakers and by 
the members of other denominations. William Penu, follow- 
ing the fashion set by his neighbors, purchased slaves without 
much thought concerning the matter, except perhaps to make 
the yoke comparatively easy. Of this statement we possess 
documentary proof. In a letter^ to his steward, Penn tells 
that gentlemen, after discoursing on the subject of domestics. 



1 Col. Hist. U. S., Vol. I, p. 535. ^ Letters to his Steward, 1685. 

67 



68 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [448 

•' it were better they were blacks, for then we might have them 
for life." 

The first public act of the Proprietory relating to the negroes 
in his possession was simply to substitute the condition of ad- 
scripts to the soil for that of serfdom after fourteen years' 
service. At a later day he endeavored to secure to the Africans 
mental and moral culture, the rights and pleasures of domestic 
life. But these efforts to ameliorate their condition were only 
partially successful, and history tells us that William Penu 
died a slave owner. Had his life been prolonged, the narra- 
tive might have been different. For some time anterior to his 
decease, his mind had been gradually settling down to the 
conviction that it was morally wrong to own slaves, and his 
will contained provision for the emancipation of the negroes 
in his possessioH. " I give," he writes in one section of the 
document in question, " my blacks their freedom as is under 
my hand already, and to old Sam, 100 acres, to be his chil- 
drens' after he and his wife are dead, forever." 

Although many Friends were thus engaged in purchases of 
this description, yet those constitutional principles, which be- 
longed to the Society, caused its members to treat those whom 
they retained in their possession " with tenderness," considering 
them in practice as well as in theory brethren, for whose 
spiritual welfare especially it was well to be concerned. The 
Friends, although they had not yet reached the objective point 
of manumitting their negroes, had always regarded them as 
human beings, and had ever favored all attempts to impart to 
them religious instruction. As can well be imagined such 
eiforts never failed to excite alarm among slave owners. Many 
early enactments clearly reveal this consternation. Of course, 
legal expression could not be obtained for such a sentiment in 
Pennsylvania, but in some colonies it secured formal statement 
in legislative measures. In the Barbadoes, for instance, an 
act was passed in the year 1676, prohibiting " the people called 
Quakers from bringing their negroes into their meetings for 
worship," even if these services were conducted in their own 



449] Attitude of Quakers toioards Slavery. 69 

residences. The preamble of the statute attempts to furnish 
extenuation for this conduct by alleging that whereas, many 
negroes have been suffered to remain at the meeting of Quakers 
as hearers of their doctrine, and taught in the principles, " that 
hereby the safety of this island may be much hazarded ; " and 
the body ,oi the enactment declares that all such action should 
be severely punished under the criminal law of the land. This 
kindness of the Friends towards their blacks contributed very 
largely to draw a vail over the iniquity and more repulsive 
features of the institution. Watson in his " Annals " testifies 
to the fact. This writer affirms that the slaves of Philadel- 
phia, " were a happier class of people than the free blacks." 
Harsh treatment was frowned down by the weight of public 
opinion, and if it occurred, the offender was practically ostra- 
cised in consequence. The same punishments were meted out 
to criminals, irrespective of color distinctions ; and the murder 
of a slave was always punishable with the death penalty. In 
short, slavery, barring of course the power legally belonging 
to it, was in general little more than servitude. But even 
kind treatment did not fulfil all the requirements of the 
situation. Quakerism was essentially a democratic system ; 
no rank could be acknowledged. Its members were all sub- 
jects of one Supreme Sovereign — the Lord of lords, and the 
King of kings ; consequently the relation of slave and master 
was diametrically opposed to one of the most esteemed articles 
in their doctrinal belief. Notwithstanding, therefore, the un- 
deniable fact that the slaves were ordinarily well treated by 
their owners, it did not deter certain individuals from becoming 
uneasy about retaining human beings in slavery of any sort. 
Even at this early time to such persons the slave trade was 
the greatest bane in their colonial existence. 

Amongst tlie echoes from those distant years, we frequently 
catch the sounds of sympathy for the enslaved — a commiser- 
ation gradually assuming the tangible form of condemning 
the retention of slaves at all, no matter what treatment they 
received, be it harsh or mild. As early as the year 1688, some 



70 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [450 

emigrants from Kresheim, Germany, who had adopted the 
principles of Penn, followed him across the Atlantic, and 
located at Germantown, entered their earnest protest against 
slavery, urging the inconsistency with the principles of the 
Christian religion of buying, selling, and holding men in 
bondage. Their memorial was illustrated in a very forcible 
manner. The petitioners argued that it was decidedly worse 
for professed Christians to possess slaves than for the Turks 
to enslave Christians, the one calling themselves by the name 
of Jesus ; the other making no pretensions of following the 
meek and lowly Nazarene. " In Europe there are many op- 
pressed for conscience sake ; and here there are those oppressed 
which are of a black color." Moreover, when it should be 
reported abroad that the " Quakers do here handel men as they 
handel there the cattle," it would inevitably bring the Society 
into disrepute. Besides, the Friends were reminded that this 
iniquitous traffic caused almost incessant wars in Africa to 
supply the demand, and this fact was emphasized as an ad- 
ditional reason why the system in toto should receive their 
unqualified condemnation and strenuous opposition. 

The document was first submitted to the Monthly Meeting. 
This body having duly considered its contents, declared " we 
find it so weighty that we think it not expedient for us to 
meddle with it here, but do rather commit it to y"* considera- 
tion of y® Quarterly Meeting ; y® tenor of it being nearly 
related to y^ Truth." " It being a thing of too great a weight " 
for the Quarterly Meeting " to determine, the matter was 
recommended to the Yearly Meeting." By this assembly, " it 
was adjudged not to be so proper for this meeting to give a 
Positive Judgment in the case. It having so general a Relation 
to many other Parts, and therefore at present they forbear it." 

And so for the time the aifair rested. Popular opinion, 
however, was now thoroughly aroused, and from this time 
dates the inauguration of the Quaker crusade against the in- 
stitution of slavery. The petition just mentioned was only 
the entering wedge of a struggle that after many years of 



451] Attitude of Quakers towards Slavery. 71 

patient and laborious contest, terminated in a way that cannot 
fail to redound to the honor of the Society. 

In compliance with the suggestion ofifered by the residents 
of Germantown, the Friends almost immediately passed a 
resolution declaratory of the unlawfulness of slavery. But 
this did not satisfy many persons who were now seriously 
cogitating upon this important subject. In the year 1693, 
both the "Apostates" and the "Christian Quakers,"^ while 
at variance on several points, united in stating, in the most 
trenchant language, their abiding belief in the unrighteousness 
of an institution that elevated one man by depressing his 
fellow-creature. At this time earnest exhortation and caution 
were given to all the members of the Society concerning the 
purchase and retention of negroes — the essence of this admoni- 
tion being, that, in the future, no one was to buy blacks 
except with the purpose of liberation. 

The first really official action of the Society in regard to 
trading in slaves, however, appears to have been taken by 
the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of 1696. After prolonged 
meditation, this assembly issued the following injunction to 
its constituents : " Whereas, several papers have been read 
relating to the keeping and bringing in of negroes, which 
being duly considered, it is the advice of this Meeting that 
the Friends be careful not to encourage the bringing in of any 
more negroes ; and that such that have negroes, be careful of 
them, bring them to meetings with them in their families, and 
restrain them from loose and lewd living as much as in them 
lies, and from rambling abroad on First days or other times." 
But no more immediate effect resulted from this measure 
than an increased concern for the spiritual welfare of the 
slaves, who, in many instances, were permitted to attend 
divine worship in the same meeting-houses with their Quaker 
masters. 



' Appellatives invented by George Keith to describe his opponents and 
followers respectively. 



72 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [452 

Such then was the state of affairs in the year 1700, when 
William Penn left England and again returned to Pennsyl- 
vania. It was with great sorrow that the Proprietary per- 
ceived that negro slavery in his beloved Colony exhibited, in 
some instances, the same hideous features that characterized 
that barbarous institution in other geographical sections. He 
informs us that his " mind had long been engaged " for the 
benefit of the subject race, and with the purpose of ameliorat- 
ing their condition, he introduced two bills into the Assembly. 
The first, concerned principally with the morals of the slaves, 
was rejected ; the second, regulating their trials and punish- 
ments, was passed. Through this action of the Assembly, 
Penn's attempts to improve the condition of the bondsmen by 
legal enactments were rendered partially inoperative. But his 
zeal in the good cause was by no means abated. The follow- 
ing excerpt, extracted from the minutes of the Monthly Meeting, 
affords ample testimony to his solicitude for the welfare of 
those in bondage : " Our dear Friend and Governor having 
laid before this Meeting a concern that hath laid upon his 
mind for some time concerning the negroes and Indians, that 
Friends ought to be very careful in discharging a good con- 
science towards them in all respects, but more especially for 
the good of their souls, and that they might, as frequent as 
may be, come to meetings upon First-days, upon considera- 
tion whereof this Meeting concludes to appoint a meeting for 
the negroes, to be kept once a month, etc., and that their 
masters give notice thereof in their own families, and be pres- 
ent with them at the said meetings as frequent as may be." 

From this quotation, it becomes sufficiently evident that at 
this period of their history, the Quakers, as a denomination, 
seemed to have been more anxious for the moral instruction 
of the slaves than for their immediate emancipation. Weighty 
measures, however, require decades for maturity. The popu- 
lar mind must be prepared ; vicious habits eradicated ; preju- 
dices conquered ; in short, innumerable obstacles of every 
sort removed. It was so in the instance we are now examin- 



453] Attitude of Quakers towards Slavery. 73 

iug. First came the blade ; then the ear ; finally, the full 
corn in the ear. We must not, therefore, expect to find all 
the Quaivers instantly severing every connection with this 
iniquitous business. By keeping this fact well in mind we 
are prepared to interpret correctly some of the enactments, 
which, without such guidance, would be wholly inexplicable. 
Thus while the majority of the Friends were conscientious 
in their relations towards their slaves — notoriously lenient 
in their treatment of them, some harsh measures were not 
unknown in Pennsylvania, as is clearly demonstrated by 
the early legislation of that period. 

In 1705, for example, an "Act for the Trial and Punish- 
ment of Negroes," became law. By its provisions, lashes 
were inflicted for petty offences, and death for crimes of 
greater magnitude. " If any Negro or Negroes within this 
Province," such is the phraseology, "shall commit a Rape or 
Ravishment upon any white Woman or Maid, or shall com- 
mit Murder, Buggery or Burglary, they shaH be tried as 
aforesaid, and shall be punished with death." For an 
attempted rape " and for robbing, stealing or fraudulently 
taking and carrying away any goods, living or dead, above 
the value of Five Pounds, every Negroe, upon Conviction of 
any of the said Crimes, shall be whipped with Thirty-nine 
Lashes, and branded in the Forehead with the Letter R or T, 
and exported out of this Province by the Master or Owner, 
within Six months after conviction, never to return into the 
same, upon Pain of Death, and shall be kept in Prison till 
Exportation at their Masters, or Owners, or their own charge." ^ 
Slaves were not allowed to carry weapons without a special 
license, and if they violated this regulation they were to be 
whipped, receiving twenty-one lashes. It was declared unlaw- 
ful for more than four to meet together, lest they might form 
cabals, conspiracies or riots. They were to be whipped, also, 
if discovered abroad after nine o'clock at night without a pass. 

1 Laws of Pa., Vol. I, pp. 45-6. 



74 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [454 

In 1707, two slaves were condemned to death, "for Bur- 
glary proved ag'st them." But as there existed no provision 
in the government " for a Competent restitution to the Owners 
who loose their Slaves by the hand of Public Justice," it was 
resolved that the death penalty should be remitted under the 
following conditions : that the slaves should " be led from 
the Market place, up y^ Second Street, & down thro' the front 
street to y^ Bridge, with their arms extended & tied to a pole 
across their Necks, a Cart going before them, and that they 
shall be severely Whipt all the way as they pass, upon the 
bare back and shoulders ; this punishment shall be repeated 
for 3 Market days successively ; in the mean time they shall 
lie in Irons, in the prison, at the Owners Charge, until they 
have such an Opportunity as shall best please them for 
transportation." ^ 

In 1711, the Friends determined to take a firm stand for 
the accomplishment of their final object. It was then that 
the introduction of slaves was strictly prohibited. The meas- 
ure, however, being submitted to the Privy Council of England 
for assent, was promptly rejected by that body. The Quakers, 
although discouraged, were not cast down. In 1712, upon 
the presentation of a petition signed by many hands, they 
endeavored to accomplish their cherished object by assessing 
the large sum of £20 per capita on every slave subsequently 
imported into Pennsylvania. Progress ever begets progress 
and it was not long before this document evoked another still 
more aggressive in its characteristics. Even before the first 
petition had received consideration, another was submitted, 
in the name of a certain William Southeby, praying for the 
" total abolition of slavery in Pennsylvania." Both these 
measures, however, shared the fate of their predecessor and 
were canceled by the same transatlantic policy. 

In 1715, a meeting was held, the avowed aim of which was 
to obtain a minute rendering unlawful any subsequent purchase 

1 Col. Rec. of Pa., II, 402. 



455] Attitude of Qimkers towards Slavery. 75 

of slaves. For some reason or other, this Assembly failed to 
accomplish the object for which it had been convened. Some 
of the Qnakers, however, did not require such a restraint. 
From conscientious scruples they refused to traffic in humanity. 
This fact is sufficiently well attested by a bit of correspondence, 
that has come down to posterity. In the same year, that is in 
1715, one Jonathan Dickinson, a merchant of Philadelphia, 
writing to his correspondent in Jamaica, says, " I must entreat 
you to send me no more negroes for sale, for our people don't 
care to buy. They are generally against any coming into the 
country." In 1722, a further manifestation of the utter re- 
pugnance of the Society to negro slavery was made by an act 
of the Assembly imposing a high duty on the importation of 
blacks into the Province. 

The Quakers had now commenced to have an abiding belief 
that slavery—" the selling of Joseph," " the root of bitterness," 
as it was variously termed — was inconsistent with the royal 
law of doing to others as we would have them do unto us. 
In their estimation, to subsist by the toil of those whom vio- 
lence or cruelty had placed in their power was neither com- 
patible with their profession as Christians, nor consistent with 
the mandates of common justice. They believed, moreover, 
that persistence in such an evil course would inevitably draw 
down the " displeasure of heaven " upon them. 

John Woolman, describing a Southern tour made by him 
in the year 1746, declares, that "when I ate, drank, and 
lodged free of cost with people who lived in ease on the hard 
labor of their slaves, I felt uneasy; and as my mind was 
inward to the Lord, I found this uneasiness return upon me, 
at times, through the whole visit. Where the masters bore a 
good share of the burden, and lived frugally, so that their 
servants were well provided for, and their labor moderate, I 
felt more easy ; but where they lived in a costly way, and 
laid heavy burdens on their slaves, my exercise was often great, 
and I frequently had conversation with them in private con- 



76 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [456 

cerning it.' To him all slavery, no matter whether lenient or 
not, was a " dark gloominess hanging over the land." 

Slavery, so thought most of the Friends, violated the 
Saviour's command, " Love one another as I have loved you." 
They raised the pertinent question, how can we be said to love 
our brethren while we bring, or for selfish ends, keep them in 
bondage? Do we act consistently with this noble principle 
when we impose such onerous burdens on our fellow creatui'es ? 
The meetings were strongly of the opinion that they did not ; 
hence the Friends were advised, and earnestly exhorted, t'o 
make the cause of the colored people their own. If slaves 
were born in their families they were entreated to " consider 
them as souls committed to your trust, whom the Lord will 
require at your hands." 

Many of the Society, translating this advice into practice, did 
make the slave-cause their own. In 1722 the following notice 
was inserted in the Mercury Gazette of Pennsylvania : " A 
person, lately arrived, freely oifers his services to teach his 
poor breathren, the male negroes, to read the Holy Scriptures, 
without any charge." This magnanimity was by no means 
unique in its character. There were many other incidents 
worthy to be placed by its side. Philanthropy was as much 
a distinguishing feature of the people of Pennsylvania in the 
days of Quaker supremacy as it has been at any time since 
that era. 

The majority of the Friends remained constant in their 
determination not to import slaves, and, to prevent any mem- 
ber of the Society who might be so inclined from introducing 
them, the Yearly Meeting of 1755 declared that if any of its 
constituents bought or imported slaves the overseers should 
" speedily inform the Monthly Meeting of such trangressors, 
in order that the meeting may proceed to treat further with 
them, as they may be directed in the wisdom of Truth." This 
decision did not visit the extreme penalty of excommunication 

' Journal, 72. 



457] Attitude of Quakers towards Slavery. 77 

upon offenders, but it simply excluded them from the more 
select meetings ; i. e., those for discipline, and from the privi- 
lege of contributing to the pecuniary needs of the Society. 

The resolution in its immediate operation appears to have 
produced little, if any, visible good. Some Quakers, of the 
liberal constructionist type, still persisted in participating in 
this traffic, and excuses of all sorts were freely urged in ex- 
tenuation of their conduct. For example, the argument was 
frequently advanced that the wretchedness of the negroes, 
occasioned by their internecine wars, justified the whites in 
enslaving them ; for, in so doing, they were actually improv- 
ing the condition of the blacks, and thus performing a philan- 
thropic work. But Woolman at once perceived that this 
specious plea was founded on an egregious misconception. He 
clearly pointed out that it was the eagerness with which slaves 
were purchased, and this circumstance alone that " animates 
these parties to push on the war, and increases desolation 
among them." ^ 

At this juncture some of the slave-owning Friends declared 
that the negroes were the offspring of Cain, their blackness 
being the unmistakable mark God had stamped upon the race 
after its founder had so cruelly murdered his brother Abel ; 
that it was the obvious design of Providence, therefore, that 
they should be slaves, as a condition proper to the tribe pro- 
ceeding from an individual as desperately wicked as Cain 
certainly was. The other side was more than equal to the 
emergency. They contended, and that too on Scriptural au- 
thority, that the family of Noah were the only persons who 
survived the deluge ; and as this Patriarch was of Seth's race, 
the descendants of Cain must have been utterly extirpated. 
The slave-owners were no sooner dislodged from this position 
than they entrenched themselves behind another Biblical argu- 
ment. After the flood, said they. Ham went into the land of 
Nod and took a wife ; this country was far distant, inhabited 

^Journal, 104. 



78 Quakers in Pennsylvania. ' [458 

by Cain's race, and was not submerged by the deluge ; as Ham 
was sentenced to be a servant of servants to his brethren, the 
issue of these two abominably wicked families was doubtless 
intended for the position of slaves — indeed, they were suitable 
for nothing else. This was certainly a most formidable array of 
Biblical arguments ; but the language of Woolman soon con- 
troverted such line of reasoning. He boldly appealed to their 
own judgment. " The flood/' contended he, " was a judgment 
upon the world for their wickedness, and it was granted that 
Cain's stock was the most wicked, and therefore unreasonable 
to suppose that they were spared." ^ Moreover, he reminded 
his brethren that the Scriptures positively assert that "all 
flesh died that moved upon the earth." 

The minority perceived the props taken one by one from 
their tottering cause, but yet they declined to surrender. Af- 
fairs continued in this unsatisfactory state for some time, 
although with the majority of the Friends it was now war to 
the knife with the institution of slavery. Nothing but abso- 
lute abolition being considered compatible with their profession 
as Christians. 

In the Yearly Meeting of Philadelphia in 1758, the sub- 
ject of slavery was vehemently discussed. Woolman, the 
apostle of emancipation, was present on this occasion, and 
his language will be employed to describe the action taken. 
" Many faithful brethren," writes our author, " labored with 
great firmness, and the love of truth in a good degree pre- 
vailed. Several who had negroes expressed their desire that 
a rule might be made to deal with such Friends as offenders 
who bought slaves in the future. To this it was answered 
that the root of this evil should never be effectually struck at 
until a thorough search was made in the circumstances of 
such Friends as kept negroes, with respect to the righteous- 
ness of their motives in keejjing them, that impartial justice 
might be administered throughout." " Several Friends," his 

^ Journal, 106. 



459] Attitude of Quakers towards Slavery. 79 

account continues, " expressed their desire that a visit might 
be made to such Friends as kept slaves, and many others said 
that they believed liberty was the negroes' right ; to which, 
at length, no opposition was publicly made." * In conclusion, 
the members of the Society were earnestly and affectionately 
entreated to "steadily observe the injunction of our Lord and 
Master, ' To do unto others, as we would they should do unto 
us ; ' which" it now appears to this meeting, would induce such 
Friends who have any slaves to set them at liberty — making 
a Christian provision for them, according to their age." 

Unfortunately, however, such benevolent opinions appeared 
very far from the creed of the recreant slave owners, who in 
direct opposition to the admonitions of both meetings and 
Friends, persisted in their pernicious ways. Consequently, 
the Quakers were compelled to resort to other expedients for 
the attainment of their object. The Friends, although never 
an exclusive sect in the strict sense of the word, had, up to 
this time, attempted no united effort. In a struggle of such 
paramount importance, however, the applicability of the old 
motto — In union there is strength — was evident. All reli- 
gious predilections were be temporarily banished, and the 
Society now proclaimed i perfect willingness to act in con- 
cert with all those, who, ithout reference to denominational 
belief, were, as regards this one cardinal topic, of the same 
faith and order. 

In 1774, therefore, an alliance, offensive as well as defen- 
sive, was consummated with all such persons, in order to 
make a grander, and, as it was hoped, a more effectual effort 
for the suppression of this iniquity. It appears almost super- 
fluous to add that the actuating cause of such combination 
was not to shift responsibility. The Quakers considered 
themselves relieved of no part of their obligation. True, 
they would urge others, but they would also labor unceas- 
ingly themselves. And measures more stringent in character 

^Journal, pp. 137-8. 



80 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [460 

were soon directed against any of their congregation who should 
offend in this particular. About this time it was declared that 
all Quakers concerned in importing, selling, purchasing, trans- 
porting slaves in any possible way were to be excluded from 
membership ; or, in the peculiar Society phrase, disoioned. 

The Quakers were commanded to shun even the appearances 
of evil. They were to abstain from any participation in slavery 
themselves, and were to pass a sort of non-intercourse act 
against those who, contrary to all admonitions, still persisted 
in such conduct. All Friends were earnestly cautioned and 
advised against acting as executors or administrators of estates 
where slaves were bequeathed or likely to be retained in servi- 
tude. They were not even to serve as scribes for such individ- 
uals, for by so doing they became instrumental, in a certain 
degree, in perpetuating bondage. Many are the recorded 
instances in which penmen, of the Quaker persuasion, abso- 
lutely refused to write such documents ; and if they eventually 
complied with the request it was always under protest. The 
experience of John Woolman in this respect is only typical of 
a class. " My employer," such are his words, " having a negro 
woman, sold her, and desired me to write a bill of sale, the 
man being waiting who bought her. The thing was sudden, 
and, though the thought of writing an instrument of slavery 
for one of my fellow creatures made me feel uneasy, yet I 
remembered I was hired by the year, that it was my master 
who directed me to do it, and that it was an elderly man, a 
member of our Society, who bought her. So, through weak- 
ness I gave way and wrote, but, at executing it, I was so 
afflicted in my mind, that I said before my master and the 
Friend, that I believed slave-keeping to be a practice incon- 
sistent with the Christian religion." 

On another occasion, he informs us that an acquaintance 
desired him to draw up his last testament. " I knew," says 
Woolman, "he had slaves, and asking his brother, was told 
he intended to leave them as slaves to his children. As 
writing is a profitable employ, and as oflPending sober people 
was disagreeable to my inclination, I was straitened in my 



461] Attitude of Quakers toioards Slavery, 81 

mind ; but as I looked to the Lord, he inclined my heart to 
his testimony. I told the man that I believed the practice of 
continuing slavery to this people was not right, and that I 
had a scruple in my mind against doing writings of that 
kind ; that though many in our Society kept them as slaves, 
still I was not easy to be concerned in it, and 'desired to be 
excused from going to write the will." ^ The friend expostu- 
lated in vain. Woolman remained loyal to his conscience. 
He declared it was perfectly clear to him that he " ought not 
to be the scribe where wills are drawn," by which human 
beings are continued in a life-long slavery. Here, as else- 
where, even the man who runs may read on the page of his- 
tory, that, although self-interest has in many instances exercised 
despotic sway, altruism has not been altogether unknown. 

In 1776, after much prayerful consideration, the Yearly 
Meetino; took final action. A statute of excommunication 
was launched against every member who should longer detam 
a negro in a state of bondage. It was declared in the most 
unequivocal manner that "where any members continue to 
reject the advice of their brethren, and refuse to execute 
proper instrumen+° of writing for releasing from a state of 
slavery such as are in their power, or to whom they have any 
claim, whether arrived to full age or in their minority, and 
no hopes of the continuance of Friends' labor being profitable 
to them ; that Monthly Meetings after having discharged a 
Christian duty to such, should testify their disunion with 
them." In accordance with this resolution, the subordinate 
meetings were directed to "deny the right of member- 
ship to such as persist in holding their fellow men as 
property." Thus the same year that the English Colonies 
in America declared themselves independent of Great Britain, 
the slaves of the Quakers in Pennsylvania were to be manu- 
mitted. But in the earnestness of the Society still more 
aggressive measures were to be taken. In 1778, another 



' Journal, pp. 80-1. 

6 



82 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [462 

injunction was added to the long list relating to slavery. It 
was then announced that all children of emancipated slaves 
should be tenderly advised, and that a suitable education 
should be freely provided for them. 

The decree of absolute emancipation had now gone forth, 
but the complete abolition of slavery was not so speedily ac- 
complished as some of the Friends in their eagerness desired. 
The reasons for the delay were many and various. Prominent 
among them was the fact that the slave owner, even if inclined 
to liberate his slaves, had many impediments besetting his path. 
Besides having to struggle against great pecuniary loss, he was 
compelled to contend with obstacles that the law imposed. To 
see the difficulty superimposed by legislation upon emancipa- 
tion, we need only to turn the leaves of some of the colonial 
statute books. In Pennsylvania, where the law was probably 
the most favorable in this respect, the individuals liberating 
their slaves were obliged to enter into bond for the payment 
of £30, so as to provide for the possibility of the freedman 
becoming chargeable for maintenance. 

As early as the year 1759, however, Woolman had said, '' the 
case is difficult to some who have slaves, but if such set aside 
all self interest, and come to be weaned from the desire of get- 
ting estates, or even from holding them together, when truth 
requires the contrary, I believe way will so open that they 
will know how to steer through those difficulties." ^ True to 
his prophetic assertion, the way did open ; or, to speak more 
accurately, the Quakers blazed out for themselves a path in 
this as yet untrodden forest. Notwithstanding all the pecun- 
iary and legal obstructions that seemed to block the way, they 
could not be restrained from doing what they were convinced 
was morally right. Many manumitted their slaves without 
the slightest regard to possible consequences. Others, while 
performing the same meritorious action, afforded the most 
splendid illustrations of philanthropy. They not only con- 
sented to surrender their property — thereby incurring the pen- 

^ Journal, p. 136. 



463] Attitude of Quakers toivards Slavery. 83 

allies attendinor manumission — but they also calculated and 
gave (deducting the cost of food and clothing) what was due 
the slaves for wages from the beginning of their servitude to 
the very day when their liberation was declared. This was 
done in many instances. The case of Warner Mifflin, who 
paid all his adult slaves on their discharge the sum w^hich 
arbitrators mutually chosen awarded them, may be selected as 
a concrete example. 

While the Society was thus performing its duty to the slaves 
and free people of color within their jurisdiction, a desire began 
to awaken among its members for the extinction of slavery 
throughout the length and breadth of America. From this time 
on, formal memorials and remonstrances relative to this subject 
W'Cre repeatedly laid before persons placed in high authority as 
well as before the public at large. Petitions were frequently 
presented to Congress, and other legislative bodies, praying for 
the total suppression of this barbarity.^ But the Quakers 
did not confine exclusively their exertions to such efforts. 
They went further. Not content with manumitting their own 
negroes, they even endeavored to liberate all the people of color 
that chanced to come within the boundaries of their State. 

General Washington, writing from Mount Yernon under 
the date April 12, 1786, speaks of the case of a certain Mr. 
Dably, residing at Alexandria, whose slave had escaped to 
Philadelphia, and " whom a society of Quakers in the city, 
formed for such purposes, have attempted to liberate." From 
Mr. Dably's account of the occurrence. General Washington 
concluded " that this society is not only acting repugnantly to 
justice, so far as its conduct concerns strangers, but in my 
opinion impoliticly with respect to the State, the city in par- 
ticular, without being able, except by acts of tyranny and 
oppression, to accomplish its own ends." ^ The expression ot 

^ These efforts were not to go unrewarded. Influenced mainly b_v the 
unceasing endeavors of the Quakers, the Legislature of Pennsylvania passed 
an act abolishing slavery in the year 1780. 

'Sparks, Washington, IX, 158. 



84 Quakers in Pennsylvania. [464 

such opinions, however, caused the Quakers little, if any, 
concern. They were firmly persuaded that even if their 
endeavors were not in strict conformity with human legis- 
lation that their conduct was approved by a higher, by a 
divine mandate, and this was of infinitely more importance 
to them. 

The year 1 778 marks the consummation of the struggle. 
At this time, as far as the author's reading extends, there was 
not a slave in the possession of an acknowledged Quaker 
within the confines of the State of Pennsylvania. 

By way of recapitulation, it should be remarked that the 
obnoxious practice of slave-holding had apparently obtained 
a footing among the members of the Society before they awoke 
to a realization of the iniquity of the institution. Those of 
their number who had always been convinced of its sinfulness, 
never tired of declaiming against its unlawfulness and urging 
the utter repugnance of slavery to a high religious profession. 
But the enthusiasm of these social reformers was invariably 
tempered with Christian prudence and forbearance. Their 
method of procedure was always characterized by discretion 
as well as by perseverance. Persuasion constituted the only 
weapon employed against those whom they believed to be in 
error. Compulsion was never resorted to. Day after day, 
month after month, year after year, did they patiently exhort 
and labor with their wayward brethren who persisted in re- 
taining their fellow creatures in a state of bondage. From 
first to last the abolitionists among the Friends sought by 
example and argument to induce the colonists, especially the 
members of their own denomination, to abstain from any 
participation in this traffic in humanity. Though often dis- 
couraged, they did not grow weary in well-doing, and in due 
season the harvest was reaped ; for, after a lapse of nearly a 
century of uninterrupted endeavor, their efforts were crowned 
with glorious success. Then was secured the end after which 
they had striven so long and faithfully — the recognition that 
all men are by nature free and equal. 



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By GEORGE E. HOWARD, 

Professor of History in the University of Nebraska. 

{Extra Volumes Four and Five of Studies in Historical and Political Science.) 

Volume I. — Development of the Township, Hundred, and Shire, is now 

ready. 542 pp. 8vo. Cloth, Price, $3.00. 
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aration. 



THE ISTEORO IN ]S1 A-RYLA-ND : 

A STUDY OF THE INSTITUTION OF SLAVERY. 

By JEFFREY R. BRACKETT, Ph. D. 
{Extra Volume Six of Studies in Historical and Political Science.) 

270 pages, octavo, in cloth. $2.00. 



The extra volumes are sold at reduced rates to regular subscribers to the 
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NOTES SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE STUDIES. 

The publication of a series of Notes was begun in January, 1889. The follow- 
ing have thus far been issued : 

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT IN ENGLAND. By Dr. Albert Shaw, of Minne- 
apolis, Reader on >fniii(i|ial (iovernmcTit, ,T. II U. 

SOCIAL WORK IN AUSTRALIA AND LONDON. By William Grey, of the 
Denison Club, L(]ii(1cim. 

ENCOURAGEMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION. By Professor Herbert B. Adams. 

THE PROBLEM OF CITY GOVERNMENT. By Hon. Seth Low, President of 
Columbia College. 

THE LIBRARIES OF BALTIMORE. Rv Mr. P. R. Uiilkr, of the Peabody Institute. 

WORK AMONG THE WORKINGWOMEN OF BALTIMORE. By Professor H. 
B. Adams. 

CHARITIES: THE RELATION OF THE STATE, THE CITY, AND THE INDI- 
VIDUAL TO MODERN PHILANTHROPIC WORK. By A. G. Warner, Ph. D., 
sometime Geueial .Seer^tary of the Charity Organisation Society of Baltimore, now Associate 
Professor in the University of Nebraska. 

LAW AND HISTORY. By Walter B. Sc aife, LL. B., Ph. D. (Vienna), Reader od 
Historical Geography in the Johns Hopkins University 

THE NEEDS OF SELF-SUPPORTING WOMEN. By Miss Clare de Graffen- 
HEID, of the Department of Labor, Wasliington, D. C 

THE ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY. Bv Lewis U. Steiner, Litt. D. 

EARLY PRESBYTERIANISM IN MARYLAND. Bv Rev. .T. W. McIlvain. 

THE EDUCATIONAL ASPECT OF THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM. By 
Professor O. T. Mason. 

UNIVERSITY EXTENSION AND THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FUTURE. By 

R. G. MOULTON. 

These. Notes are sent xoithont charge to regular subscribers to the Studies. They are sold at five cents 
each; twenty-five copies will be furnished for SI. 00. 



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THE COLLEGE was organized primarily 
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AMERICA: 

Its Geographical History, 1492 to the Present, 

By DR. WALTER B. SCAIFE. 

This work invites attention to the much-neglected borderland that unites 
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Starting with the discovery of Guanahani in 1492, it shows, by reference to 
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and Pacific coast-lines in the consciousness of Europe. The third chapter sketches 
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Its History and Inflnence in onr Constitutional System. 
By W. W. WILLOUGHBY, Ph. D., 

{Extra Volume VII oj the Studies in History and Politics.) 
124- Pages. 8vo. Cloth. Price, $1.25. 



The Intercourse between the United States and Japan. 

By INAZO (OTA) NITOBE, Ph. D., 

Associate Professor, Sapporo, Japan. 

{Extra Volume VIII of the Studies in History and Politics.) 
198 Pages. Svo. Cloth. Price, $1.25. 



State and Federal Government in Switzerland, 

By JOHN MARTIN VINCENT, Ph. D., 

Librarian and Instructor in the Department of History and Politics, Johns Hopkiris Universily. 

{Extra Volume IX of the Stitdies in History and Politics.) 
225 Pages. Svo. Cloth. Price, $1.50. 

In view of the fact that the six-hundredth anniversary of the foundation of Federal Govern- 
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principle, those found in the" United States. The present work is essentially a study of modern 
institutions, but always with reference to their source and development. 



SPANISH INSTITUTIONS OF THE SOUTHWEST. 

By FRANK W. BLACKMAR, Ph. D., 

• Professor of History and Sociology in the Kansas State University. 

{Extra Vohi,me X of the Studies in History and Politics.) 
380 Pages. Svo. Cloth. Price, $2.00. 

With Thirty-one Historical Illustrations of old Spanish Missions, etc., and a map 
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reached by the writer. The book treats of the founding of the Spanish missions in California, 
Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and portrays the civilization established by the /wK/rei, the 
social condition of the Indians, and the political and social life of the pioneers of the Southwest. 



It represents the government, laws, luuniiipal organization, and life of the colonists. The 
movement of the civil, religious, and military powers in the "'temporal and spiritual conquest," 

i the consequent founding of civic pueblos, missions and military towns are fully discussed. 

?here are thirty-one illustrations, chiefly historical. They reveal some of the most picturesque 

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

A Study Showing the Play of Physical and Social Factors in the 
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By IVIORRIS IVI. COHN, 

A ttorney-at-Law. 

250 pages. 8vo. Cloth. Price, 1.50. 

The theory underlying this work is that Constitutions, whether written or un- 
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The aim of the author has been to show with somewhat less detail than has 
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The illustrations of the subject have been taken principally from the fields of 
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THE OLD ENGLISH MANOR. 

By C. M. ANDREWS, Ph. D., 

Associate in History, Bryn Mawr College. 

280 pages. 8vo. Cloth. Price, $1.50. 

This work is an attempt to reconstruct the village and manorial organization 
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In addition all Anglo-Saxon literature has been put under contribution, that the 
study might be as complete as possible. Such reconstruction has more than a 
merely antiquarian interest, for it relates to an important period of English 
economic liistory. It shows the complete isolation of local life, the preeminence 
of agriculture, and the secondary importance of craft and artisan work. It brings 
Anglo-Saxon farming methods into line with post-Norman and shows the tenacity 
of the old life and custom, crude and uneconomical as it was, uninfluenced, to 
any great extent by the Norman Conquest. In the introduction the writer dis- 
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those ordinarily received by the Germanic school, but supporting, in opposition 
to Mr. Seebohm, the freedom of the village commimity. 



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L5Je?9 



